Mitsukaru High
by snooperj
Summary: AU Tenimyu. Prelude to AfY. How the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st.
1. Introductions

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether.

Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 1st chapter entitled **Introductions**. This chapter is basically an introduction to the four main characters as well as their relationships with one another, and how they meet for the first time with each other.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

Tomorrow was the big day. A new school year was about to begin once more at Mitsukaru High.

Takigawa Eiji was a second year student at Mitsukaru. He was the type of student who took his studies seriously, which explained him being ranked number 1 among his other batch mates at the end of their first year. On top of that, he was voted Student Council Vice-President. Said boy was dribbling a basketball in the court near his place and took a shot from the free throw area and watched as the ball sunk into the basket.

A clapping of hands came from the entrance of the court as Takigawa turned to the doorway. "Glad you could make it, Shirotan," he called brightly as he went to retrieve the ball.

Shirota Yuu was a first year student at Mitsukaru. He and Takigawa were close friends since their childhood, living only a few houses from one another. Shirota shared Takigawa's ideals of doing well in his studies that by the time he had graduated from junior high, was ranked number 2. The high school had called him up and had offered him a place in the Student Council as Secretary, as their batch's number 1 student had declined the offer and informed them that he was transferring schools. Shirota, having agreed to it, was informed that he get himself oriented before the first day by their Vice President, which turned out to be Takigawa.

"Has the school told you yet, Eiji-kun?" Shirota said as he approached the older boy. "That they asked me to be Student Council Secretary."

Takigawa scooped the ball up and nodded. "Aa. So I'm supposed to orient you, right?"

"According to them," Shirota replied with a grin.

Takigawa tossed him the ball. "I can always do that when school begins. Unless you'd want a crash course right now," he teased.

Shirota caught the ball. "That depends. How long would the crash course take?"

Takigawa pointed to the basket. "About an hour. Two hours tops," he replied. "Depends on _you_, really."

Shirota grinned and began dribbling the ball. "Why not? Answer my question if I score a point... Right?"

Takigawa got into a defensive position, nodding. "You catch on fairly quickly."

"But I'm already at a disadvantage since we're playing in your element..." Shirota complained.

"I won't bring out my full power, then," Takigawa remarked.

----------

Aiba knocked on the door.

"Come in..." drawled a voice from inside.

Aiba sighed as he opened the door and got inside. "Here are the things you asked me to buy," he told his roommate as he handed him a plastic bag.

His roommate was the vocalist of the school band. His name was Kimeru, and no one but the teachers knew his last name…not that they cared anyway. Kimeru was a second year student and a rebel. You can tell the latter part by the way he acted; he was messy, lazy and downright annoying. Spend five minutes with him and you're sure to snap and leave. Unfortunately for Aiba, he was going to be stuck with this guy for the whole school year.

Aiba Hiroki was a freshman at Mitsukaru High; he was fortunate enough to pass the exam and be accepted thanks to his high grades - having able to rank number 9 in his junior high - and perseverance. That was why he was asking the high heavens why he deserved to be roomed with Kimeru.

"Oi, Aika...you got the wrong brand," Kimeru said as he threw a box of pocky at him.

Aiba managed to catch the box before facing his senpai with a frown on his face. "I got what you told me, senpai...and it's AIBA," he said.

"Aika...Aiba...whatever...just go and get me the right brand," Kimeru said as he turned his attention back to the magazine he was reading.

"Why don't you get it yourself?" Aiba muttered.

"What was that, kouhai?" Kimeru asked dangerously.

"N-Nothing... I'll be back in a few minutes..." he said as he hurried to the door.

"That's more like it," Kimeru said as he heard the door close.

Aiba sighed heavily as he headed to the store again. "This won't be a good year...." he muttered as he passed a nearby basketball court.

----------

Shirota, after having watched Takigawa play dozens of times while they were growing up, managed a turn to fool Takigawa and quickly dashed up to the basket and succeeded in a lay-up as the ball smoothly went in. "YOSH!" Shirota exclaimed as he retrieved the ball.

"So you were doing something more than just watch me play, huh?" Takigawa noted.

Shirota nodded. "Third question," he started as he paused to catch his breath.

"Take your time, we've got all afternoon," Takigawa teased.

"Where and when does the Council meet? Is it on a daily basis or what?" Shirota inquired.

Takigawa grinned. "Every other day in the Council room that's located along the 3rd floor of the West Building. Urgent meetings are usually announced via PA system by the president. Any other announcements of the Council are voiced to the student body through the secretary via the PA system," he explained nonchalantly.

Shirota pouted. "Are you serious?"

Takigawa pointed to his straight face. "Does this face look like I'm joking?"

"It's difficult to tell... You teased me like that back when we were in junior high..." Shirota complained.

Takigawa chuckled before bursting out in laughter. "You're right," he said, holding his sides. "Gomen, Shirotan."

"Mou..." Shirota frowned as he began dribbling the ball again.

----------

As soon as Aiba got the brand Kimeru wanted ("I should have since I got one of each darn brand..."), he headed back to the dorms. "I swear...once I get the chance I WILL strangle him..." he muttered darkly. He knocked on the door again. "Senpai, it's me," he called out. He heard the lock click before the door opened.

"About time..." Kimeru said as he grabbed Aiba and pulled him inside.

Aiba dropped the plastic bag as he headed to his side of the room, pulling out a notebook and some pieces of paper from his bag.

"What's that?" Kimeru asked, opening the box.

"Schedule," Aiba answered flatly.

Kimeru grinned as he grabbed the piece of paper. "Section 1.....So you're one of the nerds," he teased.

"Why do you care...now give that back!" Aiba said as he snatched the paper back and placed it in his notebook.

"Whatever, kid," Kimeru said as he went back to his own bed and continued reading his magazine.

----------

The game of score-a-point-answer-my-question continued until Shirota was spread out on the concrete, panting as Takigawa pulled the younger boy to his feet. "Have I answered all your questions?" Takigawa asked. Shirota nodded wordlessly. "It's getting late. I'll be looking forward to seeing you in school tomorrow," Takigawa stated as he went to retrieve his ball. He paused and turned to Shirota, grinning. "I'm interested to see you in the Mitsukaru High uniform."

Shirota blinked. "Wha?"

Takigawa chuckled. "Nothing, nothing…Ja! See you tomorrow!" he called, running off.

Shirota's gaze followed Takigawa before following after him. "O...Oi! I'm having dinner at your place tonight, remember?!" he called out after him. "DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!!"

----------

The next day, Aiba woke up and looked at the clock on the study table. "7:30?!" he exclaimed. "Class starts at 8!!!" he looked frantically around for the alarm clock he had placed on the headboard and found it on the floor...under what seemed suspiciously like a cactus plant.

"Kimeru-senpai......" he muttered darkly as he threw a pillow at the sleeping junior on the other bed.

"What the heck was that for?!" Kimeru yelled as soon as he got up, eyes still bloodshot from sleep.

"We're going to be late!!" Aiba said as he scrambled off the bed to get ready.

Kimeru rolled his eyes and lied back down. "I don't care..." he muttered.

Aiba frowned and decided to ignore him; there was no way he was going to make the wrong impression on his first day just because of a wannabe J-Pop singer.

----------

Aiba managed to get to his class before the bell. He adjusted his necktie before opening the door to his room. He took a seat near the back, since the front rows were already full.

The bell rang as soon as the teacher arrived. They soon found out that the teacher's name was Ueshima-sensei and that he was going to be their adviser for that year. After a few introductions to the subjects they will be taking and discussing about their schedule and classroom duties -since in this school the students don't have to transfer rooms per subject-, they moved on to the more clichéd parts of an average first day of classes: the self introductions.

Aiba, who was always the first one called for these kinds of things, stood up from his seat and bowed. "Hajimemashite, Aiba Hiroki desu. I came from Tomoeda Junior High," he introduced before sitting back down.

----------

Kimeru glared at the person in front of him, which happened to be the school principal. He was caught smoking on the grounds and was ordered to go to the principal's office when he was caught by one of the teachers.

"Of all the days for the Student Council President to be absent...." the principal said as he looked at his secretary. "Get me Takigawa," he ordered.

Kimeru frowned. _'Him again...never thought that Takigawa -being the stuck up a****** that he is- would make it to the council...then again, I'm not surprised...'_ he thought.

----------

1-1's self-introductions continued until it reached Shirota. He stood from his seat and nodded to Ueshima-sensei before turning to the rest of the class. "Minna-san konnichiwa. Shirota Yuu desu. I graduated from Horikoshi Junior High. Yoroshikuonegaishimasu!" He bowed before he sat back down.

Ueshima went up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Shirota-kun is our Student Council Secretary. So feel free to relay any concerns to him, alright? Next! Suzuki!" he called.

----------

Takigawa was called from his class by the principal's secretary as he followed him back to the Principal's office. _'So Moriyama-senpai is still out of town...'_ he thought to himself with a sigh.

"Takigawa-kun is here, sir," the secretary announced as Takigawa bowed at the principal.

----------

"We have around half an hour before the bell rings. Feel free to talk to your fellow classmates for the time being," Ueshima said as he pulled out a list from his bag and looked at it.

Aiba sighed; he turned his attention to the boy seated next to him. "Shirota-san...you're a member of the student council?" he asked curiously.

Shirota turned to Aiba and nodded. "Aa. The school called me up about it a few days ago and asked if I was interested..." he explained.

Aiba sighed. "You're lucky...." he muttered as he pulled out his notebook and took out the piece of paper. He frowned when he noticed a small drawing by the corner. "That guy..." he said.

Shirota furrowed his brows. "How am I lucky?" he asked as he watched Aiba pull out his notebook.

"At least you don't have to deal with things I do and you're respected by people..." Aiba said as he examined the drawing, groaning a bit when he noticed that it was inked. "Great...there goes my schedule...." he muttered.

Shirota rummaged in his file case and pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Aiba. "Here," he offered with a small smile on his face. "I had an extra copy of the schedule... just in case," he explained.

Aiba took the schedule and examined it. "Hey...thanks…" he said. "Are you sure you won't need it?" he asked.

Shirota nodded. "Yeah, I've got the schedule pretty much memorized already," he explained as he closed his book bag and placed it to hang on the hooks on the side of his table.

Aiba smiled and thanked Shirota again before looking the schedule over.

----------

"Aa, Takigawa-kun. Welcome. I'm sorry for summoning you like this on the first day of classes," the principal said began. "But it would seem that delinquents don't pick proper dates…" he continued with a glance at Kimeru who wasn't really paying attention. "Kazu--" the principal caught himself when he felt Kimeru's piercing glare on him. "I mean Kimeru-kun was caught smoking on school grounds. Since it is the first day and all, I've decided to go easy on him," he explained. "Kimeru will be assigned to assist you for the whole first week of classes as punishment."

"WHAT THE HELL?! NO WAY!!" Kimeru said as he stood up and glared at both Takigawa and the principal who ignored him.

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru for a lingering moment. _'Seems he's still causing trouble as usual...'_ he thought with an inward sigh. He gave the principal a bow. "Wakarimashita. I shall relay the message to Moriyama-senpai when he returns. I'm sure he'll be able to think up of some work Kimeru-kun can do," he explained.

After thanking them, the principal had let them leave. As soon as they were out Kimeru turned to face Takigawa. "Let's get something straight...there is no way that I'll be working with those fellow stuck ups like you," he said.

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru. "I'm afraid that's not for you to decide, Kimeru-kun. You'll have to do the work you've been assigned whether you like to or not," Takigawa explained sternly. "This type of work is just a light punishment since it's only the first day, after all..."

"Look, Takigawa...I DON'T CARE!" Kimeru snapped. "It's not as if they can kick me out anyway...if they could they should already have last year," he said.

"That's because it's against the school's tradition to expel students..." Takigawa explained calmly before heaving a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, averting his gaze outside. "Look, if it'll make you feel better about this, I can write off your punishment for now..." he began. "But you'll owe me someday for this."

Kimeru, not expecting this outcome, stared at Takigawa. "Are you on drugs or something?!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Ch' never mind..." he said. He walked away, both hands in his pockets. "Fine, I owe you..." he said.

Takigawa watched Kimeru walk away before he sighed, heading down the other direction to return to his classroom. _'Honestly... What am I thinking...?'_ he thought to himself. _'Letting Kimeru off from his punishment won't get him to learn anything... Looks like I'll have to come up with other ways to get him to make up for whatever he's done next time...'_

----------

After two periods it was already time for break. Aiba was going to head over to the cafeteria when he heard a familiar voice call him.

"Hey, Aira! Get over here!" Kimeru called over as he leaned on the door.

Aiba frowned. "It's Aiba!!" he said as he took the sandwich he had packed that morning and went towards Kimeru who took him by the arm.

"Where are we going?" he asked the junior.

"You're going to help me transfer the instruments from the storage."

"Why can't your band-mates help you?" Aiba asked.

"That would be because they bring their own instruments and I have to use the ones in this pathetic school," Kimeru answered, they then saw Takigawa down the hallway. Kimeru stopped for a moment to glare at him before dragging Aiba down the hall past him.

At break time, Shirota was making his way to the courtyard where he promised to meet Takigawa for recess. The said junior was just heading there from his classroom when he spotted Kimeru shove past him, dragging along a freshman. Takigawa followed their pace for a moment, furrowing his brow. _'What's he--' _he shook his head, deciding to leave it be and continued off to where he was originally going.

"You're late," Shirota declared as soon as he spotted the boy.

"Gomen Shirotan, our teacher squeezed in an assignment before she let us off," Takigawa apologized.

Shirota pouted before he sat back down on the bench. Takigawa stood there for a moment longer and grinned. "What?" Shirota demanded.

"The uniform looks good on you," Takigawa complimented.

Shirota flicked his soccer ball up. "Don't make me kick this at you," he warned.

Takigawa chuckled, bringing his hands up in surrender. "Hai, hai. Just don't hit me with that. I know how powerful your kick is more than anybody else," he admitted as he moved forward and took a seat beside Shirota.

"I plan to try out for the soccer team after school today," Shirota said conversationally as the ball landed back on the ground.

"Good luck with that. Really," Takigawa encouraged, patting the boy on the shoulder.

----------

As soon as Kimeru and Aiba got the instruments in the club room, Kimeru had let Aiba go.

Aiba sighed as he headed off to find someplace to think. "Annoying guy..." he said as he looked around. "Great...now where am I?" he asked himself. He decided to sit on one of the nearby benches. _'I'll just find my way back in a while I guess...'_ he thought as he looked at his hands, where a cut was present.

----------

Kimeru sat by the window in the clubroom; the window happened to overlook the courtyard. In the distance, he saw Takigawa with someone didn't know. "What do you know...he actually has friends…" he huffed as he spotted Aiba somewhere near the other two. "What's this? Alone already on your first day...you're more of a loser than I thought," he said with a chuckle.

----------

"Aren't you going to eat?" Takigawa inquired as he watched Shirota get up.

"Nope! I can wait until lunch for that," Shirota explained as he began dribbling the ball with his feet.

"You really enjoy doing that, huh?" Takigawa pointed out, leaning back on the bench.

"Aa. It helps me think sometimes," Shirota replied. Takigawa suddenly did a sneak attack, attempting to kick the ball away and succeeded. "Ah!" Shirota chased after the ball as it rolled away. As soon as he caught up to it, he flicked it expertly and caught it with ease before he spotted Aiba. "A-re? Aiba-kun?" He walked up to him. "What are you doing here all alone?" he asked with a frown.

Aiba looked up when he heard someone address him. "Oh...Shirota-kun..." he greeted with a small smile. "I was just...walking around and ended up here, I guess," he answered.

----------

Kimeru watched this scene and frowned. "What's this?" he asked himself.

----------

"Shirotan? Did you---" Takigawa called, trailing off when he saw that he was talking with someone. He furrowed his brow for a moment at Aiba before turning to Shirota. "Ah, gomen. A classmate of yours?" he inquired.

Shirota nodded. "Hai," he replied, deciding to make the necessary introductions. "A-no, this is Aiba Hiroki from my class," he began. "And Aiba-kun, this is Takigawa Eiji-senpai. He's the Student Council Vice President and a childhood friend of mine," he continued, smiling over to the two.

Takigawa gave Aiba a nod. "Yoroshiku," he said politely. _'He was the freshman from earlier...'_ he pointed out.

Aiba bowed as he was introduced. "Nice to meet you, Takigawa-senpai," he greeted. He straigtened up and then remembered something. _'He's the one who Kimeru-senpai...'_ Before he could stop himself he blurted out a question. "Senpai...do you know Kimeru-senpai---"

"Oi! Aiba!! Get up here!!" Kimeru called out from the second floor classroom.

Aiba frowned and sighed heavily. _'At least he got my name right this time...'_ he thought bitterly. "G-Gomen, I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Takigawa-senpai. I'll see you in class, Shirota-kun," he said hurriedly as he left, running towards the school building.

Takigawa looked over to where Kimeru was and smirked. "Looks like I was right..." he said to himself.

Shirota watched Aiba leave before turning to Takigawa. "Eh? What do you mean, Eiji-kun?"

Takigawa turned to Shirota and playfully slapped him on the head. "Don't call me that when we're in school!" he hissed.

Shirota brought a hand to his head. "But you--"

Takigawa wagged a finger. "I have superiority rights," he defended.

Shirota pouted. "Mou..."

"Anyway... It seems that Kimeru and Aiba-kun are roommates..." Takigawa concluded. "It's the only way they would know each other... Unless they're in the same situation as you and I, which I think is impossible," he explained.

----------

After the break, Aiba had managed to find his way back to the classroom. He slumped down on the chair and frowned. _'So much for this break.....' _he thought as he recalled what had happened before he headed to his classroom. Kimeru had called him to the club room and made him do meaningless duties, like cleaning the guitars and tuning them. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know how to tune guitars which caused Kimeru to lose his temper once more. He sighed as he waited for the next subject to start.

----------

Kimeru in the meantime, was in his own classroom with both feet on the table. His teacher for that period, who was a tad bit early, was mentally scolding him but was too afraid of the boy's reputation to actually verbalize his threats.

----------

Takigawa was inside his classroom, already scribbling notes down on his notebook. Earlier's conversation with Shirota before they went their separate ways was still lingering in his head.

_**"Could you ask him for me?" Takigawa inquired.**___

_**"Eh? Aiba-kun?" Shirota clarified.**___

_**Takigawa nodded. "Confirm if he's roommates with Kimeru."**_ _'At least I could try and figure out how to deal with him next time...'_ _**he thought to himself. "I'm counting on you, Shirotan!"**___

_**Shirota was already halfway towards the school building. "Hai, hai!" he called, waving his ball in the air.**___

_**"C...Chotto!" he called, running after him. "Don't walk away like that!"**___

_**Shirota turned to him. "But my classroom is this way," he defended.**___

_**"And mine is in the other direction of the hallway..." he reminded. "We could've at least walked together up to here before parting ways, you know..." Takigawa reasoned.**___

_**Shirota sighed. "Well, we're already here. So I'll see you later, Ei--I mean, Takigawa-senpai!" he called before heading in the direction of his classroom.**_

Takigawa sighed before he was called to read out a passage from their textbook.

----------

Shirota spotted Aiba easing into his seat before Shirota turned to him. "Ne, Aiba-kun," he started. "Are you and Kimeru-senpai roommates, by any chance?" he inquired.

"Yes, and he makes my life a living hell..." Aiba answered with a frown. "Why are you asking, Shirota-kun?" he asked.

Shirota settled back in his seat, shaking his head. "Takigawa-senpai wanted me to ask, that's all..." he replied before the teacher arrived as they began class.

----------

"Kime~ are you coming for practice later?" Sota asked from beside Kimeru.

"I might...I might not," Kimeru answered, causing Sota to chuckle.

"Same as always, aren't you?" Sota said with a grin.

Kimeru smirked. "Of course..."

----------

The day drawled on until classes were over. Takigawa had attended to some paperwork for the Student Council - which included writing off Kimeru's earlier punishment - before heading to afternoon practice with the varsity basketball team.

Shirota, in the meantime, had gone off to try-out for the varsity soccer team, having been an active player back in junior high. When try-outs were over, they had announced that they would be posting the final list by next week on the club board. Shirota, after changing back into his uniform, met up with Takigawa at the entrance to the school before they both started their walk home.

"You were right..." Shirota began, stretching his arms over his head. "About Aiba-kun and Kimeru-senpai. They're roommates."

Takigawa nodded. "I thought as much..." He wrapped an arm around Shirota's neck, pulling him close. "So, how was try-outs?" he asked, changing the topic.

"It was fine, I guess... I'll have to wait until next week to find out if I got in..." Shirota said tiredly.

"I'm sure you'll pass it no problem. After all, you led your team to the Nationals once before, didn't you?" Takigawa said encouragingly.

Shirota grinned but said nothing.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	2. The Student Partner Program

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 2nd chapter entitled **The Student Partner Program**. This chapter begins the interaction of the two pairs with each other, where their feelings for each other are slowly blossoming from spending time together.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The first week of classes went by smoothly. Aiba was forced to help Kimeru every single day and the boy said nothing during those times but somehow managed. The following week, the silence along the school hallway was disturbed by the school band's resident vocalist.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!" he yelled as he looked at the bulletin board, where varsity results were posted along with some other things, like the school programs. In this case, Kimeru was staring at one of the programs, the Student Partner program, where students with low grades the previous school year would be partnered with another student in hopes to pull up his grade. Kimeru glared at the list; beside his name was the name 'Takigawa Eiji'.

Aiba, who was passing by decided to move quickly when he heard this outburst. Once he reached his classroom he grinned. "That was a first..." he said to himself.

----------

Kimeru grabbed the piece of paper from the bulletin board and stomped off to Takigawa's classroom.

Shirota had passed the junior as he stomped off with a paper in his hand before he himself headed to the bulletin board. "I wonder what Kimeru-senpai's angry about..." he muttered to himself as he reached the board and scanned it, grinning as soon as he found the results of the varsity try-outs before pumping a fist into the air. "YOSH! I got in!" he cheered before heading off to his classroom.

----------

"TAKIGAWA!!" Kimeru called out, making some of the people inside jump. "Explain," he said dangerously.

Takigawa, having just about to set down his book bag, turned to the door as soon as Kimeru called him. He blinked for a moment and abandoned his bag and eased his way to the door, gently pushing Kimeru out into the hall so as not to disturb his classmates. "What are you getting so hyped up about?" he inquired before spotting the paper in the boy's hand. He took it and read its contents. "Ah..." was all he could say.

"You...you had a hand in this!!" Kimeru accused him.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Kimeru-kun…" a voice said from behind him. Kimeru turned around and saw the principal. "I was the one who had personally set this up...consider this as a punishment for not doing your duty last week…" he told Kimeru before looking at Takigawa. "And not following orders," he said. "Work hard together then," the principal said as he passed the two to continue walking around the school.

Takigawa turned and bowed over to the principal. "Gomen nasai..." he apologized. "I'll do everything I can to get Kimeru-kun's grades up..." he vowed as he straightened up. "If he doesn't get any decent grades even _you_'ll be satisfied with, I'll step down as Student Council Vice President," he stated boldly.

Kimeru stared at Takigawa, "You...you can't be serious!!" he said as he grabbed Takigawa by the collar of his uniform. "Do you realize what the hell you're risking for nothing?!" he hissed.

----------

Aiba smiled as he read the letter in his hands; he had been accepted in the school paper and he had just gotten the confirmation. He saw Shirota come in the room and smiled widely. "You seem happy as well. Did something good happen?" he asked his classmate.

Shirota hummed a melody and slid into his chair as he nodded over to Aiba. "I passed the try-outs for the varsity soccer team!" he said enthusiastically. "What about you?"

"I got in the school paper," Aiba said as he showed Shirota the letter he received. "They prefer handing out letters to the members instead of posting them," he explained.

----------

The principal stopped and turned back to the two. "A pretty bold thing to say, Takigawa-kun. Are you sure you can whip him into shape academically? We've had our share of delinquents like Kimeru-kun in the past and even _with_ the Student Partner Program, nothing happened. Do you think you can really bring this boy's grades up at the risk of your position on the Student Council?"

Takigawa turned to the principal and nodded. "I would like to think so," he replied simply.

"Very well then, Takigawa-kun. If, by the end of the quarter, Kimeru-kun's overall grade doesn't improve from an F to at least a C, I will consider it as your resignation from the Student Council. Are we clear?" the principal stated as Takigawa nodded.

"Wait!! You can't do this!" Kimeru argued as he released his hold on Takigawa's uniform. "This guy..." he said as he pointed at Takigawa. "...he doesn't have to risk anything! You know that I'm hopeless so why the hell are you still bothering to try?!"

The principal looked over to Kimeru. "It's already decided," he stated commandingly. "It's apparent that Takigawa-kun is intent on having you reformed in terms of your studies and has thus banked your improvement on his position on the Student Council," he explained. "I will give him that opportunity, even _if_ I already know that the chances of _you_ getting better grades are already less than 1%."

Kimeru clenched his fists and glared at the principal. "I..." he started off, his voice laced with rage. "I'll show you that your analysis is wrong!" he said as he pointed a finger at the principal. "Takigawa won't lose his position and you...you will apologize to him by the end of the quarter!" he hissed as he grabbed Takigawa by the hand. "Let's go, idiot!" he said as he pulled Takigawa towards the rooftop area.

Sota, who was able to witness this, stared at Kimeru as he passed by. "What the heck was that?" he asked himself.

Kimeru didn't say anything until they reached their destination, locking the door behind him. "You freaking idiot! What the hell was that about?!" he asked Takigawa.

"I should ask you the same question," Takigawa fired back, slipping his hands into his pockets before his mouth curled up into a small smile. "But... did you really mean what you said just now? That you'll prove him wrong?" he asked.

_**"I'll show you that your analysis is wrong! Takigawa won't lose his position and you...you will apologize to him by then end of the quarter!"**_**  
**  
Kimeru recalled his words and felt his cheeks heat up. He immediately turned around so that Takigawa wouldn't notice. "I'll do it..." he said. "Just because you were an idiot for putting your position on the line for someone you don't even know."

Takigawa chuckled. "Kimeru-kun... If I recall correctly, we attended the same Junior High together... And even the same elementary..." he explained. "Quite the contrary... I've put my position on the line for someone I've been around for the longest time but have failed to get to know more about other than the name he wants to be called by and his passion of becoming a J-Pop singer," he stated.

Kimeru turned around in surprise. "You...you…" he tried to fight down a smile but failed miserably. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" he said quietly. He moved closer to Takigawa and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Takigawa… You are not going to lose your position in the Student Council. I promise," he said firmly as he did a thumbs-up with his other hand.

Takigawa smirked, nodding. "I will appreciate the effort then, Kimeru-kun," he stated as he turned to the door. "Besides... I want the principal to know... Just what students who put their best foot forward can achieve..." he said as he unlocked the door. "I was thinking of having a study session every other night..." he suggested. "Is that alright with you?" he inquired, looking over his shoulder at the boy.

Kimeru thought for a moment. "I guess that would be fine..." he said. "Where?" he asked as he looked at his watch to check the time. "Oh yeah...just one question..." Kimeru added. "Why do you believe in me so much?"

"We could stay at my place... Or perhaps it would be beneficial if we stayed at your place?" Takigawa suggested. "And..." Takigawa paused as he pulled the door open. "I believe in you because..." he chuckled. "Well, that's my secret," he finished before heading down the stairs.

"Secret?!" Kimeru repeated as he felt his cheeks heat up again for a reason he didn't know. "O-Oi! Takigawa! Answer my question properly! And we can't study at my place since Aiba will be bothered-- I mean will bother us!!" he said, quickly correcting his little slip up. _'Darn it! Why am I acting like this?!'_ he asked himself. _'It's as if...I'm....it can't be...that I'm actually comfortable with this idiot?!' _"Takigawa! Wait up!" he called out as he followed Takigawa downstairs.

Takigawa slowed down for Kimeru to catch up. "So we'll study at my place. Shirotan usually comes over to study as well, but I can always have him re-schedule his visits to work around our schedule," he explained nonchalantly. "We can walk to my place later after school. I have varsity practice until 5, so where do you propose to meet up?" he asked.

"That's fine…I have band practice till 4:30 anyway...I'll meet you at the gates," Kimeru said. "I'll see you later, I guess. I have to go and tell Aiba that I'll be coming back late," he said as he went ahead.

Takigawa watched Kimeru run off before heading back to his class. He had told Shirota about the plan for tonight when they met up during break time and explained that he'd be bringing Kimeru to his place to study. Shirota nodded in understanding.

----------

Later that day, Kimeru was waiting by the school gates. It was already 5 o'clock and he had been standing there for thirty minutes, Aiba deciding to go on back to the dorm after class.

----------

By the end of their practice, Takigawa changed back into his uniform and jogged to the gates, stopping beside Kimeru as he took a while to catch his breath. "Sorry I had you wait..." he apologized before he straightened up. "Shall we get going?" he suggested.

"Sure, whatever..." Kimeru answered as he took his bag from the ground. "Lead the way," he said.

Takigawa nodded, starting off towards his house.

----------

In the meantime, Aiba had managed to pull Shirota along with him as they hid behind one of the bushes near the gates. "Where are they going?" he asked Shirota.

"To Takigawa-senpai's house," Shirota explained. "Kimeru-senpai's part of the Student Partner Program and was assigned to Takigawa-senpai... So they're going to a study session. I heard from Takigawa-senpai that he made a bet with the principal that he would get Kimeru-senpai's grades up and staked it on his position at the Student Council..."

"That's strange...Kimeru-senpai hates studying...not to mention that he hates Takigawa-senpai...you should have seen him glare at him this morning..." Aiba said.

----------

Kimeru nodded wordlessly and followed Takigawa to his place. "You're still not going to tell me you answer, are you?" he asked randomly.

Takigawa smirked. "Nope!" he replied jovially. "Not in public, at least..." he added as an afterthought.

Kimeru frowned as he glared at him. "What do you mean 'not in public'?" he asked, "You can really be weird sometimes..." he said.

----------

"However strange Kimeru-senpai is acting... He's _still_ going to Takigawa-senpai's place with him... And not against his will, either. Are you planning to follow Kimeru-senpai all the way to Takigawa-senpai's house?" Shirota inquired as he got to his feet, dusting his pants off.

"No. I was just wondering what a jerk like him was doing after school," Aiba said with a shrug. "I'm going to the dorms and hunt down some dinner. See you tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he said as he started walking away.

"E...Eh?" Shirota turned to Aiba, suddenly struck by an idea. "Ne, Aiba-kun!" he called, running up to him. "Do you want to have dinner with me somewhere nearby? My treat!" he said brightly.

Aiba paused for a moment, looking at Shirota. "Half the bill," he bargained.

Shirota shook his head. "I already said I'll pay!" he said, pulling Aiba towards the nearest yakiniku restaurant. "Call it my way of celebrating the first week we've spent as classmates!" he said.

"But Shirota-kun… It wouldn't be fair--" Aiba was cut off when he saw where they were headed. "Y-Yakiniku?" he read from the sign outside.

Shirota stopped at the door. "You like yakiniku, Aiba-kun?" he inquired.

"Well..." Aiba started, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "...sort of…" he admitted with a sheepish smile.

Shirota grinned widely. "That's a relief. Alright, it's decided! Let's get inside, hurry!" he said excitedly, pulling Aiba inside before they were quickly showed to a table.

----------

Takigawa smiled but said nothing for the rest of their walk to his house. They arrived at the doorstep as he took out his keys and unlocked the door. He took off his shoes and retrieved two pairs of slippers from the cupboard, setting them down on the floor in front of them. "Make yourself at home. I'll go make us some dinner," he announced as he neatly arranged his shoes by the cupboard, wore the slippers and headed into the kitchen.

Kimeru nodded as he sat on one of the couches in the living room. _'This place sure is big...and clean....not to mention silent....unlike the place where I came from...'_ he thought as he forced back the memories of his own home. He looked around and noticed a small cage containing a very fat rabbit inside. He approached the cage and looked at it. "I never knew that rabbits can get to be this big," he said in surprise. "You must have a comfortable lifestyle, don't you?" he asked the rabbit with a smile.

"His name's Q," Takigawa called. He was leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen and had watched Kimeru move to his rabbit's cage. "My parents go overseas quite often, so I'm alone most of the time. Shirotan comes over to keep me company sometimes and sleeps over. You're more than welcome to do so too if you like," he explained conversationally. "Oh, I just popped in a tray of Chicken Pasta Casserole in the oven... I made it this morning and thought of cooking it for tonight..." he added, as if to testify what he was doing out in the living room.

Kimeru jumped in surprise when he heard Takigawa talk to him. "I…er...I...never mind," he said as he moved back to the couch. "No thanks, I'd rather stay at the dorm than owe you something...." he said. "...and I don't mind eating anything as long as it's safe and edible."

Takigawa chuckled. "I see... Well, you _do_ still owe me for last week, though I don't think we can still consider that with the situation we've been put into..." He turned and headed back into the kitchen. "And I can assure you the food isn't poisoned. I prepared it myself, so I should know," he added before moving to the stove. "Feel free to take Q out from his cage!" he called.

"Hey. Once I get the grade by the end of the quarter I won't owe you anything, Takigawa," Kimeru reminded him. He then looked at the rabbit in the cage for a while before glaring at the spot where Takigawa was a while ago. "Tell anyone about this and you die..." he said as he opened the cage to get Q. _'Aren't you an adorable thing...'_ He said in his mind as he took the rabbit out.

----------

"I still want to shoulder half of the bill, Shirota-kun," Aiba said as soon as he sat down.

Shirota shook his head. "No way. I offered first, and I'm not going back on my word. So order anything you like!" he said, handing him the menu.

"Your loss..." Aiba muttered as he looked at the menu, deciding on what to get.

Shirota smiled before flipping the menu open and browsed it for a while.

Aiba placed the menu down and decided on his food, waiting for Shirota to do the same.

Shirota looked over his menu before setting his own menu down and raised a hand up to call a waitress. "We're ready to order, aren't we?" he asked, looking over to Aiba with a soft smile as he lowered his hand.

"I think so," Aiba said. As soon as the waitress arrived he told her his order.

When Aiba was finished ordering, Shirota grinned and turned to the waitress. "I'll have whatever he ordered," he stated plainly as the waitress took their menus, bowed, and left to punch in the orders.

Aiba blinked as the waitress went away. "What do you mean have whatever I'm having? You're not even sure if you like what I ordered..." he said.

Shirota waved a hand in front of him. "It's fine. It's nice to try something new every once in a while," he admitted.

"You're one strange guy...." Aiba mused as he stared at Shirota for a few moments.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Shirota stated as he leaned back on the chair.

Aiba shrugged and looked around. "Hey, Shirota-kun....I guess it would be proper if I thank you for this...so...thanks," he said without making any eye contact.

----------

A small bark echoed from the backyard. "Oi, why are you outside?" Takigawa called, moving to open the screen door to let the small Yorkshire terrier in. The dog rushed in and scrambled into the living room, barking like mad. "Pearl!" Takigawa called from the kitchen. "Your food's here!" he said, as the Yorkshire looked at Kimeru and Q, barked for another time before running back into the kitchen.

Kimeru saw the dog enter and he felt his eye twitch. _'Seriously....I thought that one was enough...but two?!'_ he thought as he stared at the bunny in his hands. He sighed before smiling softly, adjusting his sitting position on the floor. He placed Q on his lap and stroked it.

----------

After managing to settle Pearl to eating her food in peace, Takigawa moved to get the casserole from the oven. He transferred it to a big enough serving plate, grating some cheese over it before he went to set the table. After about five minutes, he had set the Chicken Pasta Casserole in the center before he looked over to the living room. He smiled at Kimeru and Q before he returned to the kitchen to clean up and wash his hands before re-emerging, Pearl following behind him. "Dinner's ready," he called as he returned to the dining table.

"H-Hai…" Kimeru answered as he placed Q back in the cage and stood up. "I'll just wash my hands..." he muttered as he passed Takigawa to get into the kitchen, coming out a few moments later. "...Hey...that smells good..." he said as he looked at the food.

Takigawa had already sat himself down and gestured to the chair across him, a small smile on his face. "Thank you. I hope you enjoy it," he said as he stood and took the serving scooper, handing it over to Kimeru across the table. "Here, you can have the honors of trying it out first."

Kimeru hesitated for a moment, placed a serving on his plate before trying Takigawa's dish. "...This is insane...are you sure you made this?!" he asked.

Takigawa nodded as he took a serving for himself. "Why? Should I have added the bell peppers?" he inquired.

Kimeru's eyes widened. "What do you mean should have added bell peppers?!" he said. "This... Are you working part-time as a chef or something?!" he asked.

Takigawa sat back down after he got a reasonable amount and sprinkled it with grated parmesan cheese, chuckling. "Originally, I was supposed to add some bell peppers on top but decided against it," he explained. "And no, I'm not working part-time. I just enjoy cooking. Since I'm alone most of the time, I have to cook for myself. My mom taught me how to cook when I was little, so I didn't have much trouble adjusting and following recipes from a cookbook so I could make myself some dinner," Takigawa said as he tasted it, chewed and swallowed it. "This is actually my first time making this particular dish, though..." he admitted.

Kimeru felt his jaw drop as Takigawa finished what he was saying. "You...You don't follow stereotype don't you?" he asked incredulously before grinning. "This is quite a surprise...your girlfriend is very lucky to have someone like you," he teased.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Takigawa stated pointedly, stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork and twisted it to get the pasta as well.

Kimeru looked up from his food to look at Takigawa. "Huh? Then the rumors weren't true after all..." he said as he thought for a while. "Why don't you have a girlfriend? I'm sure someone like you would find one easily," he asked.

"Hmm... The answer to that question..." Takigawa started slowly, twirling his fork to get some more pasta. "Is because I'm not all that interested in looking for a girlfriend..." he finished, bringing his pasta-filled fork to his mouth.

----------

"Anytime, Aiba-kun," Shirota replied, watching the boy for a while before their orders arrived, successfully diverting Shirota's attention. "Wow, this is great!" he exclaimed as he pulled his chopsticks apart. "Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu..." Aiba echoed as he started eating.

----------

Kimeru took in his answer for a moment before turning his attention back to his food. "Academics first, huh....either that or you're in the same boat as I am," he said nonchalantly.

Takigawa paused, looking over to Kimeru. He took a moment to swallow the food in his mouth before asking, "The same boat meaning?"

Kimeru grinned. "Come on, Takigawa… It's public knowledge that I'm not really into women," he said. "If you're uncomfortable with that idea then I'm sorry to say that you'll be stuck tutoring me whether you like it or not."

Takigawa paused, lowering his fork and noticed that his plate was nearly empty. He rose from his chair and got himself another serving. When he sat back down, he took a piece of chicken and said, "To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not uncomfortable in the slightest." A small smile appeared on his face as he took the chicken into his mouth, chewing it eagerly.

Kimeru blinked. "For someone prim and proper, you sure are a weird guy…" he said as he continued eating.

----------

After dinner, Takigawa did the dishes and stored the leftovers in a Tupperware and put it in the fridge before emerging from the kitchen. "Let's get down to business, then. My room's this way," he indicated, gesturing to the stairs as he took his book bag he had left on the couch and led the way to his room.

Kimeru nodded as he followed Takigawa upstairs before taking his bag that he had placed by the couch.

At the top of the stairs, Takigawa hung a left and opened the door to his room, setting his book bag on his desk. "Would you prefer it if we studied on the floor?" he inquired, looking over to Kimeru as he opened his closet to get some floor pillows.

"Anywhere is fine," Kimeru said as he sat on the floor, near the bed so that he could lean on it. "So...what are we supposed to do today?" he asked.

Takigawa nodded, pulled out two pillows and tossed one over to Kimeru. He shut the closet door and set his own pillow down and retrieved his book bag and sat himself down. "Study, what else?" he replied cheekily. "Now, pick a subject," Takigawa said, opening his book bag.

"English?" Kimeru suggested as he opened his bag to take out a book.

Takigawa took a notebook and a book out. "Alright," he replied, flipping the book open. "Anything in particular you don't understand?" he inquired.

"There is this one part..." Kimeru started as he showed the book to Takigawa.

----------

Shirota, satisfied with the meal, leaned back and rubbed his stomach. "That was delicious," he said happily.

Aiba smiled and nodded in agreement. "That's why I like it."

Shirota asked the waitress for the bill and immediately paid for it before Aiba could begin bargaining to pay for half of it. "It's fine," he reassured him as he got to his feet. "You introduced me to some good food, so paying the bill is the _least_ I could do," Shirota reasoned.

"There's no winning against you in this conversation…" Aiba said with a sigh as he picked up his bag from the floor and stood up as well. "We better get going then, Shirota-kun. Your parents might be looking for you," he said.

Shirota got his book bag and his gym bag and stretched his arms as they left the restaurant. "I'm in no hurry," he replied. "The only one that's probably looking for me is my older brother," he explained.

"I see..." Aiba said, silently walking beside Shirota until they reached the corner of that street. "The dorms are that way," he said as he pointed to a certain building. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Shirota's smile faltered slightly before nodding. "A...Aa..." Shirota replied. "See you..." He nodded a second time before he started off in the direction of his house. i_'I wonder how Eiji-kun's Casserole came out...'/i_ he thought to himself. i_'I'll have to pay him a visit tomorrow! I really wanted to try it out!'/i_ Shirota grinned. "But at least the yakiniku was delicious," he concluded.

The next day, Aiba rubbed his eyes sleepily. He was kept up the whole night by his roommate, causing him to be in a bad mood that morning. He sat on his seat and glared at the blackboard.

"Rough night?" Shirota inquired over to Aiba as soon as he arrived in the classroom and sat down in his usual seat beside him.

Aiba nodded. "Kimeru-senpai kept me up all night blabbering about Takigawa-senpai and his pets...that guy just doesn't know when to shut up..." he said with a groan as he placed his head on the desk.

Shirota raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Kimeru-senpai was talking about Takigawa-senpai?" he repeated.

Aiba shifted a bit to look at Shirota. "Yes...he was talking about a rabbit, a dog and some chicken dish....oh and Takigawa-senpai being a chef in the future...funny thing is I don't think he mentioned anything about studying," he said. "Then again, it's Kimeru-senpai."

----------

Kimeru, on the other end of the hall, was looking at the notes Takigawa had helped him make the night before. To his surprise he could actually understand what the lesson was about thanks to the other boy.

"Oi, Kime!!" Watanabe Daisuke, the band club's drummer and one of Kimeru's friends, called out from the side of the room. "You didn't answer my calls last night," he said.

Kimeru looked at him lazily. "I was studying with my partner. What did you want?" Kimeru asked.

"Why the cold attitude today, Hime-sama?" Daisuke asked. "I know what could fix that! Let's go clubbing tomorrow," he offered.

"Can't. I need to study," Kimeru answered, turning his attention back to his notes.

Daisuke frowned.

"Rejected by Kime at this time of the morning, Dai?" Nagayama 'Nagayan' Takashi asked his friend as he entered the room.

"Shut up, Nagayama," Daisuke said as he stormed out of the room, passing Sota who just came in.

"What's with him?" Sota asked as Nagayan just shrugged in reply.

----------

Daisuke went to the classroom of 2-1 and found who he was looking for. "Takigawa!" he called out, walking over and punching the boy across the face.

Takigawa collided with a few of the desks before he fell to the floor.

"Takigawa-kun!" Tsuchiya 'Tuti' Yuichi cried in alarm.

"It's fine..." Takigawa replied quietly, painfully pushing himself off the floor as he uneasily got to his feet with the help of the desks. He felt that his legs would buckle underneath him but he managed to stay his ground. "What's wrong, Watanabe-kun?" he asked, panting.

"You better stay away from Kimeru if you know what's good for you!" Daisuke said in anger. "He doesn't need people like _you_ to mess with his life and not to mention take him away from his friends," he continued. "Who the hell do you think you are to intrude like this? Student Partner Program--whatever or not, you stay away from him, you hear?!" he said before walking out of the room.

Takigawa watched Watanabe leave the room before he faltered, unable to keep himself up anymore.

"O-Oi, Takigawa-kun!" Tuti cried again, moving forward to help him up. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Takigawa nodded as he allowed himself to be helped up to his feet. He silently arranged the desks before moving to his seat.

Hayashino Takeshi approached him. "That's a nasty bruise, Takigawa-kun," he pointed out. "What got Watanabe Daisuke pissed to hit you like that?"

Takigawa winced when brought a thumb up to examine his bruised cheek. "I got partnered up with Kimeru-kun for the Student Partner Program..." he explained flatly. "Don't worry about it..."

Tuti took his seat in front of Takigawa. "Are you sure? Watanabe-kun's pretty possessive when it comes to his circle of friends..."

Takigawa nodded. "I know..."

----------

Nagayan saw Daisuke come out of the 2-1 classroom and hid in a random classroom when the boy passed. Nagayan came out after a few moments and went towards the room. He surveyed the people inside before spotting someone with a nasty bruise.

"Takigawa!" he called out as he approached. He saw the other students become apprehensive as he raised both hands. "I'm not going to do anything!" he said as he slowly went forward. "Listen… this may sound pretty random but...don't give up on Kimeru, alright? Just...don't," he said. "That's all. I'll be going!" he said before dashing outside.

"What was that about?" Tuti implored, watching Nagayan leave the room.

Takigawa managed a small smile as he took out his notebook for their Math class. "Don't think on it too much, Tuti," he said quietly. _'I don't plan on giving up, anyway...'_ he told himself firmly as the teacher arrived.

----------

"What happened to you?" Kimeru asked Daisuke as he entered.

"Nothing. Oi Kime...you won't be neglecting your band just because of that program, would you?" he asked.

Kimeru rolled his eyes. "Seriously...why would I..."

Daisuke nodded in approval.

"Though I might spend less time going out with you guys, but I'll still be around," Kimeru finished.

Daisuke frowned when he heard that. "Oi Kime maybe you would want--" he was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing and the teacher entering the room.

----------

"And he talked about that enthusiastically? How weird..." Shirota said as he folded his arms in thought before he looked over to the door as the teacher came. _'I'll have to talk this over with Eiji-kun later...'_ he thought to himself before they started Modern Japanese class.

----------

The day passed pretty quickly; before they knew it classes had already ended.

"Kime~ where are you going? Studio is that way!" Sota called out as Kimeru went out of the room.

"I know! I just have to see someone!" he yelled as he ran downstairs. "Where is he..." Kimeru muttered as he ran around. "There!" he exclaimed as he saw who he was looking for. "Takigawa!" he called out, stopping to catch his breath.

Takigawa was on his way to the gym before he turned to see Kimeru. "Oh… Hi there Kimeru-kun. What's up?" he inquired, forcing a smile.

"Listen..." Kimeru said as he approached him. "My English teacher gave a pop quiz earlier and I was able to pass. Not only that…" he then felt himself grinning. "I was one of the guys who got the highest scores." He paused. "I owe you for this, Takigawa."

Just around the corner of the hall, Daisuke listened to this conversation, undetected by the two.

Takigawa patted Kimeru on the shoulder, grinning. "Good for you, Kimeru-kun! See what you can do when you try hard?" he said, chuckling. "Last night's efforts weren't in vain, after all," he teased.

----------

Aiba packed his stuff and placed it in his bag. "You have varsity training, right Shirota-kun?" he asked lazily as he closed his bag. "Good luck. See you tomorrow," he said as he patted him on the shoulder and went his way.

"Yeah..." Shirota replied before he watched Aiba leave. Sighing, he zipped his gym bag closed and slung it on his shoulder. _'Walking off before I could even talk with him...'_ he said in defeat as he headed off to get changed.

----------

"Yeah...but that was because _someone_ was keeping me in check in case I dozed off," Kimeru answered. "That's all I wanted to say now go on or your team will accuse me of being a bad influence on their vice captain!" he said as he playfully pushed Takigawa to the direction of the courts.

Takigawa laughed. "Yeah, I'm going, I'm going," he called. "I'll see you for our study session tomorrow, Kimeru-kun!" he added, waving a hand over his shoulder as he jogged the rest of the way to the gym.

Kimeru watched until Takigawa entered the gym. "Yosh! Now time to jam," he said as he ran off to the direction of the studio of the band club.

----------

Aiba yawned as he made his way downstairs. He stopped when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh shoot! I'm supposed to take pictures of the varsity teams for the school paper!" he exclaimed as he turned around to head to the fields.

----------

Shirota, after getting changed into his training uniform, headed out onto the field with the rest of the team as he did some self-stretching. "At least we'll be having a practice match today," he said brightly to himself.

----------

Aiba was fussing over his camera while running towards the field. When he got there he paused to catch his breath. "...Here...okay...first....soccer…" he panted. He went over the team, talking to the captain and showing his ID from the school paper before being allowed to go around and take pictures while the players were warming up. He was looking for a good angle and zoomed in on a certain player, noticing that he was in the right angle of sunlight and shade. He took the picture and looked at the screen to see if he got it right. It was only then did he realize who he had taken a picture of. "Shirota-kun?!"

Shirota, who had just finished stretching, turned when his name was called. "Hai?" He blinked when he saw Aiba. "A-re? What're you doing here, Aiba-kun?" He inquired, walking up to him and spotted the camera and remembered. "Ahh, you're here from the school paper, right? Well, I hope you take some good action shots. We'll be having a practice match today," he said, grinning.

"Shirota!!" the captain Wada Masato called. "We're assigning the teams now!"

"Ya-be!" Shirota cried. "I gotta go," he said hastily before running off to join the rest of the team.

Aiba smiled as he watched Shirota head to the team. "I guess a few more shots here wouldn't hurt," he said.

----------

Later that day, when practices were over, Aiba realized that all the pictures he took were that of the Soccer Team. "There's always tomorrow..." he reminded himself as he sat under the shade of a tree, checking the pictures.

"Aika!"

Aiba frowned; only one person calls him that. "Kimeru-senpai..." he muttered darkly.

Kimeru walked up to him and grabbed the camera. "You've been busy today…a-re? More than half of these pictures are of one person..." he said.

"What's it to you," Aiba said as he snatched the camera back. "He was just at the right places for a good shot..." he reasoned as he started to walk away.

Kimeru grinned as he followed the first year.

----------

"Good game, Shirota!" Wada said, patting him on the shoulder as they got changed in the locker room.

"Arigatou, Wada-buchou!" Shirota said, bowing as he loosely put on his tie before fixing his bag and headed out to the gates to wait for Takigawa.

----------

"Are you sure you're fine?" Gomoto Naoya inquired, approaching Takigawa after practice ended, fiddling with his tie. "That bruise looks pretty bad..."

Takigawa gave him a smile. "It's fine," he reassured him. "It's nothing..."

Naoya frowned. "Don't act like it's nothing!" he complained.

"Seriously, it's alright, Naoya-kun," Takigawa pressed on as he buttoned up his shirt.

"Tell me who it was, at least..."

"If I did that, you'd hit him back, right?" Takigawa inquired as he closed his locker and zipped his bag shut. Naoya said nothing as Takigawa gave him a small smile. "I'll be alright. Hitting me wouldn't keep me from doing what I enjoy doing," he said. "I'll be going ahead, then. I have to meet up with Shirotan. Ja ne!"

----------

Shirota and Takigawa arrived at about the same time before the silently nodded to each other and started heading to their houses.

"You're sleeping over tonight, right?" Takigawa inquired.

Shirota nodded. "There're two important things I'd like to discuss," he stated seriously.

"What would those be?"

Shirota counted one with a finger. "One, about Kimeru-senpai. And two..." He brought out another finger from his fist. "I want to try your Chicken Pasta Casserole!" he declared.

Takigawa burst out laughing. "You'd eat anything I cook!" he stated slyly.

Shirota pouted. "Of course I would! Because everything you cook is yummy!" he reasoned.

**----------**

"...and that's why I think I'll manage to pull this off," Kimeru finished as he looked at the freshman who was scowling at him from across the room. "What?" he asked.

"Can I have my camera now?" Aiba asked as he eyed the camera that was being held hostage so that he would listen to Kimeru.

Kimeru grinned. "Here you go," he said as he handed the camera over to its owner.

Aiba examined it for a while. "Senpai....can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"What happens when the quarter ends?"

"Then it ends."

"I meant your tutorials."

"Oh..." Kimeru frowned as he thought about it for a moment. "I guess we go back to living our own lives," he answered.

"So it's just for the grade?" Aiba prodded.

"That and Takigawa's position on the council. Once I'm done with this crap he can live his own life and I'll live mine. That way we'd be out of each other's hair," Kimeru said as he leaned back.

"You're not even going to stay friends?" Aiba asked.

"Friends? ...We live in two different worlds. He'll just get in trouble if he sticks with me," Kimeru answered.

"A-re? You're actually worried about him?" Aiba teased.

"Where did you get that?! Go to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow!" Kimeru said as he threw a pillow at Aiba and lied down, leaving no room for further conversation. Not that Aiba wanted to say anything else anyway.

"Whatever you say, senpai..." Aiba said with a grin as he closed the lights and went to bed.

----------

"He was telling all that to Aiba-kun?" Takigawa clarified as he sat down on his bed as he pressed an ice pack against his bruise after turning off the lights.

Shirota nodded as he tried to find a comfortable position on the futon bed Takigawa had spread out whenever he'd sleep over. "Ever since you two started taking that program seriously..." Takigawa chuckled as he averted his gaze to the window. "So what are you going to do?" Shirota asked.

"About what?"

Shirota grinned. "He's the one, isn't he?" he implied carefully.

Takigawa looked over to Shirota in the semi-darkness as he felt his cheeks heat up. "Wha--"

Shirota wagged a finger. "Childhood friends, remember? Growing up in an all-boys school will tend to have you develop those kinds of feelings," he explained needlessly. Takigawa groaned before settling himself into bed. Grinning triumphantly, Shirota shifted to his side. "Oyasumi~" Shirota called as he shut his eyes and waited for sleep to take him.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	3. Takigawa & Kimeru's Sweet Nothings

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 3rd chapter entitled **Takigawa & Kimeru's Sweet Nothings**. This chapter revolves around how Takigawa and Kimeru's feelings break the surface and voice it out to one another while dealing with trivial things that continuously involve the school band members.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The next day, Daisuke was waiting for Takigawa by the school gates. According to his sources, today was another study session for Takigawa and Kimeru.

----------

Aiba was early that day; he had to get the pictures printed for submission that day and the only access he had to a printer was in school. The editor-in-chief had given him the key to the office so that he could finish it there. He was waiting for a few pages to print when he looked outside the window. "Isn't that one of Kimeru-senpai's band-mates?" he wondered to himself.

----------

Takigawa yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he headed to school early that day. _'Of all the days for Moriyama-senpai to come back to school... he wakes me up so early...'_ he thought to himself, shaking his head as he recalled how he had gotten up minutes before.

_**Takigawa was woken up earlier than usual by his ringing phone. Groaning, he felt around for the device on his bedside table and answered it. "Hello?"**_

**"Ah, Takigawa-kun! Glad you picked up."**

_**"Moriyama-senpai...?" Takigawa identified, stifling a yawn.**_

**"Aa. Listen, I just came back from the seminar, and I was hoping if I could have a chat with you about what's happened so far while I was away. Could you come over to the school?" Moriyama instructed.**

_**Takigawa checked the time. It was only 6 in the morning. "Alright... Just give me a while to get ready. I'll be there in about 15 minutes," he replied before hanging up. He looked over to the sleeping form of Shirota and got to his feet, moving to his desk and wrote a note for the boy and got ready for school.**_

And here he was, walking to school. He slowed down when he saw Daisuke by the school gates. _'Won't this be trouble...' _he thought to himself, inwardly sighing as he put on a smile as he approached the boy. "Ohayou, Watanabe-kun. You're here pretty early," Takigawa stated conversationally.

Daisuke glared at Takigawa as soon as he saw him. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from Kimeru? He has better things to do than that stupid program!" he said as he grabbed Takigawa by the collar. "I don't care if you're Student Council or not, you're going to learn--"

"Daisuke!" a voice called out, causing Daisuke to release Takigawa.

"Furukawa, what the hell are you doing here?!" Daisuke asked furiously.

Furukawa Yuuta, another member of the band club, glared at Daisuke who glared back at him before turning around and walking towards the building. Furukawa sighed. "Sorry about that, Takigawa...that guy has issues," he said, "See you in class!" he added before running after Daisuke.

----------

Aiba lowered his camera and smirked. "That jerk better appreciate the effort..." he said as he added another picture to the lineup of the ones he was printing.

----------

Takigawa nodded over to Furukawa as he watched them run off as he fixed the crease on his shirt and continued inside. "Seriously... Like this is a big deal and all..." he muttered to himself as he headed for the West Building to meet up with the Student Council President.

----------

Kimeru woke up at around 7 o'clock; he had enough time to get to school at a leisurely pace. Once he got to school he went straight to his classroom. "What's this?" he said as he saw a brown envelope on his desk. He picked it up and took out what was inside. His felt his anger flare up once he saw the photos inside.

"Ohayou Kimeru~ hey what's--"

Kimeru cut Daisuke off by punching him in the gut.

----------

Aiba was reading a book as he waited for the other students to come in.

Shirota had gotten up at around quarter to 7, which gave him enough time to read the note Takigawa had left him, get ready for school and lock the house with his key and headed to school. He arrived at the 1-1 classroom and heaved a sigh of relief as he proceeded to his desk and slumped into it. "Why'd he have to leave so early..? I wasn't able to have breakfast..." Shirota muttered darkly to himself.

Aiba flipped a page of his book when he saw Shirota arrive. "You seem under the weather today..." he said as he looked up from what he was reading.

Shirota set his head down on the desk and looked over to Aiba. "Takigawa-senpai... I slept over last night but he left early today... So when I woke up, I had to rush here without any breakfast..." he explained. "Mou, I was looking forward to his French toast..." he complained, burying his face in his hands.

----------

Takigawa left the Council room and slowly headed to his classroom. His little meeting with Moriyama-senpai was unexpected. He had assumed the older boy would scold him for even risking his Council duties on Kimeru's grades, but Takigawa was surprised when Moriyama had laughed out loud, stating that he hadn't met anybody as bold as Takigawa to speak up to the principal as he had.

**"I have the utmost confidence in you, Takigawa-kun. Prove the principal wrong!"** Moriyama told him as Takigawa sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

_'Honestly...'_ he thought to himself.

----------

"What do you mean you're quitting the band?!" Nagayan exclaimed as he stared at Kimeru.

"I'll just be gone for the quarter to pull my grades up...the recent incident didn't exactly put me in the principal's good book," Kimeru said as he glared at Daisuke who didn't look at him.

----------

When break time arrived, Takigawa wanted some time to think to himself, and decided that the rooftop was the best place for that. He pushed the door open a notch and paused when he heard some voices on the other side.

----------

"As long as Takigawa doesn't know about this, I don't care. He already risked a lot in even accepting me as a partner in this program," Kimeru added.

"Kind of hard to not notice with that cut on your cheek and bandage on your hand," Sota pointed out.

"I'll think of an excuse," Kimeru said before sighing heavily.

"Why does he even bother anyway?" Daisuke muttered.

"I'm afraid I don't know that myself."

----------

Takigawa paused, recognizing who they were before he slowly stepped out into the rooftop to see the members of the school band there. He frowned when he noticed that Kimeru was injured. "What happened to you?" he inquired before he could stop himself.

Kimeru looked up and saw Takigawa. He groaned inwardly at his timing. "I...fell down the stairs," he said.

"Got into a fist fight with Daisuke," Nagayan said at the same time.

Kimeru stared at Nagayan as well as the rest of the band members. "Nagayan!" Kimeru hissed.

"He's going to find out eventually Kimeru," Nagayan said firmly.

Takigawa apprehensively approached Kimeru. "Was it because of me..?" he asked quietly, taking hold of the boy's bandaged hand. "You even went too far to injure your hand..." he added, sighing.

"It--" Kimeru began.

"If you won't tell him the truth, I will," Nagayan warned.

Kimeru frowned. "Fine...yes, I got into a fight and no it's not because of you," he said. "I started it so I'm the one to blame...no one badmouths or threatens any of my friends...even if that person has been with me for the longest time, he's not exempted," he said bitterly. His eyes widened when he realized what he said.

Nagayan grinned. "Glad to hear you finally say it, Kime," he said as he stretched. "I think we should leave you two to talk for a while," he said brightly as he dragged the rest of the group to the door. "Let's go to the cafeteria! I'm starving!" he said, as he closed the door behind him.

----------

"FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD!!" Shirota cheered, heading to the cafeteria, dragging Zukki and Aiba with him.

"You really didn't have breakfast this morning?" Zukki inquired with a chuckle.

Shirota nodded. "It's all Takigawa-senpai's fault..." he said darkly as they arrived and got in line.

Aiba sighed. "You kept spacing out in class..." he said as he looked around. "That's strange...the cafeteria is usually filled with the laughter of the Kimeru-senpai's group..." he said.

Shirota failed to notice this and chose his food from today's menu, filling his tray up eagerly.

----------

"Those freaking idiots..." Kimeru muttered, glaring at the door. He pulled his hand away and turned his back on Takigawa. "Look, I'm fine alright," he said. "So don't go getting yourself worked up for nothing."

Takigawa watched Nagayan lead the rest of them through the door, leaving him alone with Kimeru. Takigawa averted his gaze and walked to the railings. "If this was about earlier with Watanabe-kun..." he began, gripping onto the railings. He smiled to himself. "Furukawa-kun stopped him before he could do anything..." His grip tightened around the bar. "So... if that was why you got into a fight with him... I appreciate it..." he looked over to Kimeru, his smile still plastered on his face. "For considering me as your friend..."

Kimeru turned around to face Takigawa, returning the gesture with a smile of his own. "You know...I've still been wondering about something…" he said suddenly, his smile turning into a pout. "You never told me why you never looked for a girlfriend…"

Takigawa's cheeks flushed before he turned his back to Kimeru as he scratched the back of his head distractedly. "I told you that I wasn't uncomfortable when you mentioned that you weren't into women, didn't I?" he began. "Fact of the matter is, you and I _are_ in the same boat..." he explained, finding himself able to look back over to Kimeru. "Would it... sound awkward to you if I told you... that I liked you?" he asked apprehensively.

Kimeru grinned when he heard Takigawa's answer. '_W-W-What? Did he just say what I thought he did?!'_ Kimeru thought as he felt his face heat up. He felt at a loss of what to say for a few seconds before finding his voice again. "I-I don't mind..." he said.

Takigawa paused, considering Kimeru's choice of words before chuckling, shaking his head as he headed to the door. "Honestly, who answers it that way?" he teased. His hand wavered over the handle before he said, "We can about this later... More properly, at least..." He looked over his shoulder and smiled over to Kimeru. "Ja, see you later." With that, Takigawa left.

"Aa..." Kimeru said as he stared at the door for a while; letting what just happened sink in. He shrugged. "I'll think about it later," he told himself before heading back to his room.

----------

After class, Aiba went straight to the office of the school paper. "Aiba-kun...." Yagami Ren, the Editor-in-chief of the club, smiled at him.

Aiba felt a shiver go down his spine. "Y-Yes senpai?" he asked.

"Next time, please make sure that you take pictures of other members as well…" Yagami said.

"But he--"

"No matter how bad the lighting is… they invented flash for that reason, okay?"

Aiba nodded and looked away.

----------

"Oi, Kime how did it go?" Nagayan asked as they put the instruments away after a brief meeting.

"How did what go?" Kimeru asked him.

"You know..."

"No..."

Nagayan stared at him and sighed. "You're hopeless," he said.

----------

After classes, Shirota and Takigawa attended to their Student Council duties in the Council Room. After Takigawa promptly introduced Moriyama-senpai to Shirota, Shirota went off to file a few things, happy that they both had a day off from varsity practice today.

"Oi, Takigawa," Moriyama called.

"Hai, Moriyama-senpai?" the second year inquired, walking up to the president with a folder in hand.

Moriyama brought his hands behind his head and leaned back on his chair as he looked over to the youngest boy filing in his desk. "So Shirota-kun's a childhood friend of yours, na?"

Takigawa nodded, following the older boy's gaze. "He works hard. I'm sure he won't give you much trouble," he explained.

"I thought I made it clear that I wouldn't look for another Vice President besides you, Takigawa... I have faith in Kimeru-kun that you shouldn't worry about resigning your position," Moriyama repeated, cleaning his ear out with his pinky.

Takigawa smirked. "I'm confident in Kimeru-kun as well..." he admitted. "I suppose putting my position on the Council would give him that incentive that he needs..."

"Incentive?" Moriyama repeated, furrowing his eyebrows.

Takigawa nodded. "I suppose that if I didn't put something on the line, he would just dismiss this entire program... And I wouldn't want to let that happen..."

"You've been waiting for a chance like that, haven't you?" Shirota chimed in, coming over to Moriyama's desk with a pile of papers.

Takigawa looked over to Shirota, a faint blush on his cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

Shirota chuckled. "Hai, the documents for the class lists are in order, kaicho," he reported.

Moriyama grinned. "Sankyu, Shirota-kun."

----------

Aiba was passing by the hall, ready to leave the school, when Kimeru saw him. "Oi, Aiba," he called out.

"Yes senpai?" Aiba asked, stopping before turning around to face Kimeru who came out of a room he passed.

"You're the one who put the pictures on my desk, aren't you?" Kimeru asked him as he approached.

Aiba took a step back. "I...don't know what you mean, senpai..." he said carefully.

Kimeru grinned as he patted Aiba on the shoulder. "No need to be apprehensive. I just need to thank you, that's all..." Aiba looked at him suspiciously. "...and tell you to get me more of those thingies you brought from the grocery last week."

_'I knew it....'_ Aiba thought. "Hai...I'll go get some before going back to the dorms. I'll be going now," he said before turning around and walking away.

Kimeru checked the time. "Just a few more minutes before I have to meet Takigawa..." he muttered to himself.

----------

When Council work was all done, Shirota and Takigawa went ahead of Moriyama and made their leave from the school.

"Ne, you owe me for breakfast this morning!" Shirota declared as they headed off to the gates.

"I do, don't I? Well, tomorrow for sure, then. Kimeru-kun's coming over to study tonight, remember?" Takigawa reminded the boy.

Shirota nodded. "I know, I know..."

"Now get on home. Maria-san is taking a break off work starting today, isn't she?" Takigawa stated, pushing Shirota forward.

"Ahh! I almost forgot!" Shirota said in a panic. "Thanks for reminding me. See you tomorrow, Eiji-kun!" he called before running ahead.

Takigawa chuckled, watching Shirota before stopping just outside the gates, checking the time.

----------

Aiba was looking around the grocery for the specific brand of pocky he bought a few days ago. _'Please don't be out of stock....you're the only thing that would save me from sleeping late tonight...'_ he thought desperately.

----------

Kimeru was caught up talking to Nagayan about his new crush when he noticed the time. "I was supposed to meet Takigawa five minutes ago!!" he exclaimed as he bolted out of the room, leaving the rest to stare after him. He reached the school gates, slightly out of breath. He saw Takigawa and approached him. "Sorry about that..." he said.

Takigawa waved a hand. "Don't mind it. I made you wait for me the other day when I ran late on practice. It's fine," he reassured him as he started heading off towards his house. "Oh yes, I wanted to ask you if you wanted anything special for dinner tonight," he began, looking over to Kimeru, flashing him a small smile.

"Like I said, I'll eat anything edible," Kimeru replied with a grin.

"In short, anything I make will appeal to your appetite," Takigawa concluded, chuckling.

"I think you got that right," Kimeru answered with a laugh. "Hey Takigawa, I just remembered something," Kimeru said randomly. "Daisuke told me that he was sorry for hitting you the day before...you didn't tell me that he hit you."

"You don't notice the obvious, do you?" Takigawa stated, pointing to his swollen cheek which was still showing faint signs of a bruise. "And I didn't think it was necessary to tell you about it at the time. After all, he told me to back off," he recalled. "Then Nagayan came and said not to give up on you," he added fondly, chuckling.

"Nagayan did what?!" Kimeru exclaimed, suddenly stopping. "That guy...he really likes to move on his own sometimes." He dragged Takigawa to the side of the street. "Let me take a look at that for a while," he said as he pulled Takigawa down a bit to look at his cheek. "...I'm surprised you didn't say anything," he said before letting the taller boy go.

Takigawa fixed his hold on his bag before they continued their walk. "What was there to say? Watanabe-kun had already left before I could retort, anyway. Not that I would've wanted to since I knew it would just end up in another fist to the face," Takigawa mused. "But he's got a powerful punch, I'll admit," he stated seriously. "I practically sank to the floor as soon as he left."

Kimeru frowned. "Then I don't regret hitting him this morning..." he muttered. "That guy…he really can't tell right from wrong sometimes. That's why Furukawa's with him."

"I already thanked Furukawa for that," Takigawa said before they had arrived at his place. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the front door; the usual procedures of stepping inside were repeated before he headed straight into the kitchen. "I think I'll just make some curry tonight," he concluded, moving about the room, pulling out ingredients, utensils and kitchenware as he went.

Kimeru thought for a minute as he placed his bag on the couch. "Can I bring out Q from the cage?" he asked hesitantly.

Takigawa peeked out from the kitchen. "Sure. I'm sure he appreciates the gesture!" he replied before returning to preparing tonight's dish.

Kimeru grinned as he went straight the cage and took Q out. "Hey there big guy," he said as he started playing with the fat bunny.

----------

Aiba sighed as he closed the door behind him. He placed the plastic bag on Kimeru's side of the room and slumped down on the bed.

----------

Shirota was sitting down to his sister's cooking. He, along with his older sister Maria and his older brother Jun were the only ones at home. Their father was working overtime again, therefore called to say that he'd miss dinner.

"So how's school so far, Yuu-kun?" Maria asked conversationally.

"It's fine. Got into the soccer varsity..." Shirota replied.

"Not to mention he became Student Council Secretary," Jun teased.

"Really?! That's great, Yuu!" Maria said excitedly.

"You didn't have to tell her that, Jun-ani..." Shirota pouted.

"Cheer up, it's news to Maria-nesan, isn't it?" Jun fired back.

----------

Takigawa finished preparing the dish much quicker than the other day and had everything set up for dinner in half an hour. He called Kimeru to eat before sitting himself down at the table.

Kimeru joined him after a while and when they were done he offered to do the dishes.

Takigawa went to feed Pearl and Q while Kimeru was doing the dishes. _'Hmm... How should I put it...'_ he thought to himself, formulating what to say as he set down a bowl of food in Q's cage for the rabbit.

----------

Aiba sighed as he read the messages on his laptop. It was from his mother and sister. The message was something about his father being promoted and them begging him to come back home. He ignored this and just closed his laptop.

----------

Shirota hustled to his room and closed the door behind him, panting as he sank down the door, wiping the sweat off his brow. He had just avoided a tickle attack from his brother. _'This is why I prefer staying with Eiji-kun...'_ he thought to himself, shuddering before he went to do his homework.

----------

After washing the dishes, Kimeru joined Takigawa. "Done," he said with a smile.

Takigawa nodded. "A-no... About earlier..." he started, distractedly moving to reach for his book bag. "Is it alright if we set things straight now? Before we get to studying, that is..."

Kimeru blinked as Takigawa said this. "Uh...sure, I guess," he said before sitting down on the couch.

Takigawa apprehensively took a seat on the couch as well. "So..." he began, scratching his cheek. "Now that I've told you how I feel... A-no..." He felt his cheeks heat up before he shook his head. "Gomen, I can't really... complete... sentences..." he mumbled.

"Relax, Takigawa," Kimeru said as he patted him on the shoulder. "I won't bite you," he teased.

Takigawa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before starting again. "I want to know if you're feeling the same way..." he blurted out clearly, pausing before turning to Kimeru timidly. "It's alright if you aren't..." he added quietly.

Kimeru thought for a moment. "...and Nagayan told me it was dead obvious..." he muttered. "Takigawa...if I wasn't feeling the same way I wouldn't even bother to annoy you ever since we started Senior High...not to mention that I'm here at your place right now," he said.

Takigawa nodded slowly. "I just had to confirm it..." he said before getting to his feet. "I heard from Shirotan what Aiba-kun told him about what happened that night after we finished studying..." he explained before taking his book bag and headed for the stairs. "According to Aiba-kun, you couldn't stop talking about me," he said, chuckling.

Kimeru's eyes widened. "Aiba did what?!" he exclaimed before frowning. "That kid..." he muttered darkly. He followed Takigawa upstairs and was already at the topmost step when he remembered something. "That boy you mentioned...is he on the soccer team by any chance?" he asked.

Takigawa opened the door to his room and nodded. "Shirotan? Aa, he is. Why do you ask?" he inquired, bringing out the floor pillows from his closet.

Kimeru took out Aiba's camera, which he had managed to grab earlier without the other noticing, and showed a picture to Takigawa. "This one?" he asked.

----------

Aiba rummaged in his bag. "My camera's missing!!" he exclaimed.

----------

Takigawa took the camera and examined the picture before nodding. "Aa... Was this at yesterday's practice?" he inquired, raising a curious eyebrow.

----------

"GIVE IT BACK!" Shirota demanded; reaching for his calculator that Jun had held out of his reach while keeping Shirota back with his other hand. "I need to finish my Math assignment!" he reasoned.

"You owe me an explanation as to why your allowance money's already amounted to 3000 yen when it's just the middle of the week," Jun said.

"I went out for dinner with a friend and offered to pay, is that a crime?" Shirota defended, clawing for his calculator. "Mou, give it back already!"

----------

Kimeru nodded. "Browse through the photos and tell me what you observe about them," he said as he sat on the bed instead of on the floor.

Takigawa located the right button and began browsing through the pictures, taking in their contents. When he had arrived back at the first picture, he lowered the camera. "Whose camera is this?" he breathed before turning to Kimeru. "Most of these pictures are of Shirotan..."

Kimeru grinned. "The owner of that camera is Aiba Hiroki, my roommate and that boy's --Shirota is it?—classmate," he said. "When I asked him about it, he told me that Shirota was just at the right places during the right time. Lighting and stuff that I couldn't understand," he explained.

Takigawa handed the camera back. "Aiba-kun, huh... I met him during the first day of school..." he said as he took his book bag and brought it with him as he sat down on the floor. "I wonder if it was just the lighting he was worried about... Or something else..." he thought out loud, shaking his head before opening his bag. "Saa, we don't have time for this type of talk. What do you want to discuss tonight?"

Kimeru chuckled before standing up to get his books before sitting down on the floor beside Takigawa. "Well...the Math teacher _did_ say that we have a quiz on Friday and there's this part I don't quite understand..." he started.

----------

It was already around 10 in the evening when Kimeru got back to the dorms; he had expected that Aiba was already asleep so he quietly opened the door and went inside...only to be bombarded by pillows.

"Ow! Wait-- Hey!!" he said as he attempted to shield himself with his arms. A stray pillow hit his injured hand causing him to yelp in pain.

When Aiba heard this he stopped. "Where's my camera?" he asked threateningly.

"What makes you think I have it?!" Kimeru asked.

"You're the only one who's shown interest in it! Now give it back!!" Aiba said.

"All right, sheesh! Here," Kimeru said as he handed the camera to Aiba. "Can I go to bed now?" the older of the two asked.

Aiba nodded wordlessly, examining the camera for any damage.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	4. The Night Carnival

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 4th chapter entitled **The Night Carnival**. This chapter details how Aiba's serious personality slowly starts to change as he spends time with Shirota both as a reporter for the School Paper on the Soccer team and as a friend. Shirota invites Aiba to the carnival for seemingly friendly reasons, but both are beginning to see the feelings they hold for one another.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The next day, Shirota came to Takigawa's place for breakfast as previously planned, enjoying himself some long-awaited French toast. When both were through, they headed off to school.

Takigawa frowned when he examined Shirota's face. "Why is your cheek swollen?"

Shirota brought a hand over it. "Jun-ani's fault..." he muttered. "Pinched me so hard for spending too much of my allowance on one day without telling him..." he explained. "He had my calculator hostage and I couldn't finish my Math assignment without it..."

"When was this?" Takigawa asked incredulously.

"That day when Kimeru-kun first went to your place... I went to eat out with Aiba-kun at a yakiniku restaurant..." Shirota replied.

Takigawa's eyes widened for a second before he cleared his throat. "What was the occasion?"

"Nothing, really... I just thought of treating him out for dinner... Although I _did _tell him it was to celebrate our first week as classmates," the younger boy replied, chuckling.

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Aiba and Kimeru came to school together; Kimeru was talking to him about one thing or another while Aiba tried his best NOT to listen since he wasn't really interested in what the junior was saying.

Fortunately for Aiba he was the first one to arrive in the classroom. He sighed as he sat in his place and looked out the window.

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Kimeru in the meantime headed straight to the rooftop to think. What happened the day before had finally sunk in and he couldn't help but smile.

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Yagami smiled as he placed the latest news on the bulletin board of the School Paper.

_"School Band Club in need of a New Vocalist"_

Takigawa and Shirota arrived in school earlier than expected and did their usual routine of checking out the bulletin board for any new announcements. Shirota was browsing for any news on any upcoming games, while Takigawa searched for anything for the Council. His eyes stopped, however, when he spotted the news on the School Paper's board and blinked. "New... vocalist...?"

Shirota inched beside him. "Wasn't Kimeru-senpai the vocalist? Why are they looking for a new one?"

"I'll go ahead, Shirotan!" Takigawa called, heading off to the band room. When he arrived, he spotted Sota and Nagayan there.

Sota and Nagayan looked at Takigawa as soon as they saw him by the door. "Takigawa? What brings you here?" Nagayan asked.

"If you're looking for Kimeru then I'm afraid that you won't be finding him here anymore," Sota added.

"W...Why'd he leave the band?" Takigawa inquired once he caught his breath.

Sota and Nagayan looked at each other in confusion. "You didn't know?" Nagayan inquired. "He left the band so that he could concentrate on his studies," he explained.

Sota nodded. "Quite a big sacrifice on his part, I'll say...you don't know how much he loves singing," he added.

Takigawa nodded. "I do, actually..." he told Sota, grinning. "Thanks for the information..." he bowed to the two before heading off to where he knew Kimeru would be. Upon reaching the rooftop, he pushed the door open, panting once more. "Why... must this school... be so big...?!" he told himself with each breath before he spotted Kimeru. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

Kimeru spun around in surprise to face Takigawa. "Tell you what, exactly?" he asked.

"That you quit the band..." Takigawa explained, walking up to him.

"Oh that..." Kimeru said slowly. "I was planning to tell you eventually...wait... How did you know?" he asked.

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"Seriously... Running off like that..." Shirota muttered to himself as he headed to his classroom. When he arrived, he spotted that Aiba was already there. "You're here pretty early, aren't you?" he said cheerfully. "Ohayou, Aiba-kun," he greeted.

Aiba nodded over at Shirota. "Aa. Kimeru-senpai woke me up this morning and he seemed pretty intent on getting here early," he explained.

"Really? That's strange..." Shirota admitted, setting his bag down on his desk and moved through the empty classroom. "Na Aiba-kun... Have you been to the night carnival downtown?" he began.

Aiba tilted his head a bit to the side in thought. "Night carnival? I don't think so..." he said.

"We should go! There's lots of stuff to do there!" Shirota said excitedly.

Aiba raised an eyebrow in question. "Why are you asking me to go?" he asked. Realizing how negative his response was he shrugged. "I guess it's fine..." he added.

Shirota grinned. "Yosh! So is tomorrow night alright with you? Kimeru-senpai is meeting up with Takigawa-senpai for another study session by then..." he reasoned.

Aiba thought for a minute. "I guess it's okay with me. It's a Friday night anyway," he said.

"Glad to hear it!" Shirota said excitedly, pumping a fist into the air. "Yosh! We've got plans tomorrow night!" he cheered.

Aiba didn't really understand why Shirota was so enthusiastic about it. _'It's just a carnival...'_ he thought.

Shirota sat himself back down when their other classmates started coming in.

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"There was a post on the bulletin board about it..." Takigawa explained.

Kimeru blinked. "Bulletin...board?" he asked before frowning. "The school paper...should have known that they would get something like this on their bulletin board..." he muttered. "In any case, since you know already. Yes, Takigawa…I quit the band, but for a good reason."

Takigawa nodded with a small smile on his face. "I know. It's so that you could concentrate on your studies, right? Sota and Nagayan told me when I went to the band room earlier," he stated.

Kimeru nodded. "But once I pull my grades up I'll go back...and I'll be better than ever!" he said as he pumped a fist into the air.

Takigawa smiled. "Glad to hear it. Your aim is to be a J-Pop singer in the future, right?" he asked. "I'll be sure to get any albums you decide to release," he said brightly, flashing a thumbs-up over to Kimeru. "That's a promise."

Kimeru nodded. "I'll hold you to that promise," he said.

Takigawa chuckled. "Count on it." He paused and checked the time. "I should get going... I need to submit a few things to Moriyama-senpai..." he said, nodding to Kimeru before he moved to the door. "Oh, and good luck in your classes today," he added before heading downstairs to the Council Room.

Kimeru smiled to himself before going downstairs to go to his class as well.

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It was already the first break time. "Takigawa-kun!" Abe, one of Takigawa's classmates, went over to him. "Hey listen! I've got two entrance passes to the night carnival for tomorrow. Maybe you can have it since I won't be able to use it. My parents and I are going out of town and it would be a waste if they're not used. I already asked everybody and it was either they had plans or they already have their own pass..." he said. "So...you want them?"

Takigawa eyed the tickets before smirking. What a coincidence it was that he had just given away his pair of passes to Shirota earlier that morning so that he wouldn't feel bad about not being able to come over. He nodded. "Aa, I'd be glad to take them off your hands, Abe-kun," he replied.

Abe sighed in relief. "That's great! Here you go," Abe said as he handed the tickets to Takigawa. "Have fun then!" he added before going out of the room to head to the cafeteria.

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Aiba opted to stay in the classroom for the first break. He brought out a book he was trying to finish and started reading it from where he had bookmarked it.

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Shirota was spending the first break with his classmates Yanagi Kotaro and Endo Yuuya.

"I thought you were supposed to factor this out?" Yanagi inquired, scribbling something on the paper.

"No, no, no. You should combine these first before factoring it out so it cancels out like that," Endo reasoned.

While the two were fighting over how their current Math assignment was supposed to be solved, Shirota was sitting down on another bench, strumming a random song on the guitar.

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"Aiba-kun! I heard that your photos of the Soccer team will show up on the school paper!" Adachi said as he went over to Aiba. "The paper is going to be released before exams! Isn't it great?"

Aiba looked up at him and shrugged. "I guess it's good news," he said.

"Gee...you could be more enthusiastic about it...." Adachi said.

"Whatever for?" he asked as he flipped the page of the book.

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Kimeru was on the rooftop again; his friends were having a meeting in the studio to talk about what they would do with their certain predicament, thus leaving Kimeru alone for a while. He sighed as he leaned on the fence and looked at the town.

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Takigawa spent the rest of the first break inadvertently addressing his classmates' inquiries about their subjects. When he finally found some time to himself, he took out the passes and smiled. _'A little break wouldn't hurt, right?'_ he told himself as he slipped them back into his bag for safekeeping.

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As soon as the bell rang, Kimeru hurried back to the classroom, making it before the teacher arrived.

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Soon, classes ended. Aiba stood up and took his bag. "Ne Shirota-kun...I'm looking forward to tomorrow," he said with a small smile.

"So am I!" Shirota said. "Ja, I'm off to practice then!" he called, taking up his bags and jogging out the room and headed to the locker rooms.

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Takigawa had arrived for varsity practice early and started his laps around the court that he was already on his last lap when the rest of the team arrived.

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"Heading to the dorms?" a voice asked, causing Aiba to turn his attention to the door.

"Aa..." he answered.

Kimeru chuckled. "Then let's head back together," he said.

Aiba looked at him suspiciously. "You don't have band practice?" he asked.

"I quit."

"You what?!" Aiba exclaimed. "Oh well...you have your reasons…" he said dismissively.

Kimeru nodded. "So let's go head back."

"Hai..."

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The rest of the afternoon carried on in its usual manner; Shirota had been involved in another practice game, while Takigawa found himself playing a game to determine the starting 5 for their annual practice game with another high school. When both the Soccer and Basketball teams had concluded training, the two met up as usual at the gates and headed home together.

The next day, Shirota went to school early, as designated by their captain for an early morning practice to prepare for their upcoming game tomorrow. That way, they didn't need to schedule practice that afternoon.

Takigawa had gone to school rather early as well to assist Moriyama with next month's activities in the Council Room. When everything was filed, he spent the rest of the early morning up on the rooftop, spotting the practice of the Soccer team and decided to watch for a while as he waited for a certain someone to show up.

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Kimeru had let Aiba sleep in a bit; the boy had been up until midnight studying for a quiz, so he went to school on his own. He yawned as he opened the door to the rooftop. He was a bit surprised to see someone there and smiled when he realized who it was. "Takigawa," he said as he closed the door behind him.

Takigawa turned to see Kimeru arrive. "Ohayou," he greeted, a smile creeping up his face before he rummaged into his bag and pulled out the passes and held them out to Kimeru. "There's a night festival tonight... Do you want to go?" he inquired. "Shirotan's apparently going with Aiba-kun tonight... at least that's what he told me yesterday," he added, grinning.

Kimeru took the passes and looked at them. "Sure, this looks like fun," he said with a smile. "Wait...Aiba and Shirota? They're going out?" he asked.

Takigawa chuckled. "Yes and no," he replied simply.

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Down on the field, the Soccer team had another practice game between the first team and second team, and Shirota had just managed to score a goal. "YOSHA!!!" he cheered, pumping a fist in the air as he headed back to their side of the field.

"What do you think, buchou?" Kujirai Kousuke, the team vice-captain inquired.

Wada nodded. "He'll be a good asset to the team. Good mood-maker, too... Mark him down."

"Hai," Kujirai replied.

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Kimeru frowned. "What do you mean yes and no?" he asked.

"Yes, they're going out to the carnival together, and no, not _going out_ if we put it in the context of them being in the same relationship we're in..." Takigawa explained.

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Aiba yawned as he went passed the soccer field. "A-re? Morning training?" he muttered as he stopped to watch.

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Shirota, on the defending side, managed to tackle the ball off one of the players with a perfectly timed sliding tackle. He brought the ball upfield, expertly passing the defenders before he passed the ball at the last minute to his teammate Kanesaki Kentarou, who took a shot on goal as the ball zoomed past the goalkeeper and into the goal area. "Good pass!" Kentarou called, gesturing a thumbs-up to Shirota, who returned it with his own, partnered with a grin.

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"Wow...he's actually pretty good..." Aiba said as he moved a bit closer to watch.

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"I see..." Kimeru said as he looked at the grounds; he saw something that caught his attention. "Takigawa...take a look at this..." he called out, pointing at the soccer field.

Takigawa looked over his shoulder and looked over to the soccer field and smirked. "Well, well, well... Look who's stopped and watched the practice game..." he said, leaning down on the railings.

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The game continued before the regular team managed to score a point. Shirota and the rest of the second team managed to get back a goal before the final whistle blew as Wada called them all to announce the line-up for tomorrow's game.

"...forwards will be Kanesaki Kentarou and Shirota Yuu! This is the line-up for tomorrow's game. Call time is at 8 o'clock in the morning. That is all!" Wada announced before the team dispersed.

Shirota and Kentarou congratulated one another before Kentarou went ahead to the locker room. Shirota spent some time and finished his water bottle before he spotted Aiba. "A-re?" Aiba-kun?" he grinned, jogging up to him. "Ohayou~! Did you come to watch the game...?" he asked apprehensively.

"Um no...I was actually just passing by…" Aiba said as an excuse. _'Darn it...I knew I should have left earlier.' _"You're good..." he complimented.

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Kimeru chuckled. "Those two...they don't get it, don't they?" he asked.

Takigawa stroked his chin. "Well... Shirota's showing _some_ signs of recognition to those feelings he has... Hence always asking Aiba-kun to accompany him... to the yakiniku restaurant last Monday and now to the night carnival... On the other hand, the pictures Aiba-kun took may not be a coincidence at all if he shares the same feelings towards Shirota like we think he has..." he reasoned out.

"From what I know of Aiba, I think that it's safe to say that he has totally no idea of how he feels," Kimeru voiced out. "But they're young. They'll find out sooner or later," he said.

"I suppose the only way to confirm that is later tonight at the carnival," Takigawa finished, grinning as he patted Kimeru on the shoulder. "Are you as curious as I am in finding out whether those feelings exist or not?"

Kimeru faced Takigawa with a smirk on his lips. "You bet I am," he answered.

Takigawa chuckled as he took up his bag. "It's settled then," he stated with finality. "We'll have to keep an eye on them tonight."

Kimeru nodded. "Though I don't want to spend the entire time stalking them, just until we see what's really going on," he said.

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Shirota smiled, nodding. "Ah, sankyu..." He looked at the ground for a while before saying, "I've been chosen to play with the first team in tomorrow's practice game with one of the other high schools..." He paused before clearing his throat. "Ah, gomen... I have to go and get changed for class... See you later in the classroom, then!" he nodded before jogging off to the locker room.

"Sure..." Aiba said as he watched Shirota leave. He sighed before heading off to the classroom. Once there he sat down on his seat and looked out the window.

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Takigawa laughed. "Of course not. That would ruin the whole point of _us_ going and enjoy ourselves," he reasoned.

Kimeru smirked. "That's true," he said.

"So what time do we meet later? We don't have any Council work after school..." Takigawa stated.

"I don't have anything that would hold me back once the bell rings," Kimeru said with a smile.

"Maybe you'd like to go and have some tea or something?" Takigawa offered with a grin.

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Shirota managed to change rather quickly and was making his way to his classroom.

"Shirota-kun!"

Shirota stopped in his tracks and turned to see the second year vice-captain Kujirai. "Ah, Kujirai-senpai."

"Wada-buchou already announced the line-up earlier, but I wanted to make sure that you're comfortable with your position as I'm still fixing the formation that would best suit the team," Kujirai explained. "Did you have any preference as to the position you wanted to be in?"

Shirota shrugged. "Well, I've always been put in mid-field when I was in Junior High... But I've both assisted with goals and scored some myself... So..."

"Mid-field striker, huh?" Kujirai interrupted, smirking. "It suits you. With Kentarou-kun as a forward, Wada-buchou as a mid-fielder and myself as a defender, I think that gives us plenty more opportunities of attacking..." Kujirai stated fondly.

Shirota merely nodded.

"Alright, then. I'll pass on this information to Wada-buchou. Sankyu, Shirota-kun. We'll announce the final line-up by the end of the day on the bulletin board. Be sure to drop by and check it out before you leave today," Kujirai stated before heading off to his classroom.

Shirota bowed before continuing to his own.

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"Tea sounds good," Kimeru answered.

"Then we meet up outside school right after classes?" Takigawa offered.

Kimeru nodded. "Sure, that won't be a problem," he answered. "Oh and by the way...I found something out that the Student Council might be interested in knowing," he started. "Some kids from another school were rumored to have beaten up one of the students in our school."

Takigawa frowned. "Who was the victim?" he asked worriedly. "Is he alright?" he added.

"Aa. He's fine, he got away with a few bruises, or so I've heard." Kimeru answered. "Either way, I think you should be informed."

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_'I wonder if I could ask Yagami-senpai to put me in charge of covering the Soccer team...'_ Aiba wondered as he took out his notebook to look at something. _'Wait...why do I even want to cover that team? ...They're always outdoors and there's practically almost no shade in their practice area plus the fact that there's a huge chance that I might get hit by the soccer balls....'_ he continued as he weighed the pros and cons of his request. While thinking about it he was subconsciously drawing a stick figure kicking a soccer ball.

Shirota arrived at his classroom and looked inside, seeing the usual figure of Aiba at his desk. "Whatcha doing?" he asked randomly as he entered the room and set his things down on his desk.

"Me? Nothing..." Aiba answered as he made another stick figure beside the one he first made. This time it was holding a camera.

Shirota looked over Aiba's shoulder and managed to see what he was doing. "A-re? Is that supposed to be me?" he inquired, pointing to Aiba's first stick figure.

Aiba, realizing what he was doing, slammed his notebook shut. "Don't mind it! Random stick figures that's all!" he said quickly.

Shirota stepped back, holding his hands up. "Hai, hai..." he said before moving back to his bag.

Aiba sighed in relief. He turned his attention to his seatmate after a while. "Shirota-kun, did you do the homework for history?" he asked.

Shirota set his gym bag down on the floor beside his desk and hanging his book bag accordingly before he turned to Aiba. "Aa. Why do you ask?" he inquired, taking his seat.

"Ano..." Aiba started hesitantly. "I think I need a bit of help with the third question..." he said as he showed him his assignment.

Shirota leaned over and took the assignment and read the question before grinning. "Oh, this one~" Shirota rummaged into his book bag and pulled out a thin book and opened it to where he had marked it. "Here, this should help. My sister used that book when she was in college," he explained, holding the book out to Aiba.

Aiba took out the book and scanned the page; he smiled when he saw that it was indeed the information he needed. "Thanks Shirota-kun!" he said before he started finishing his homework.

Shirota nodded. "Anytime," he replied, leaning back on his seat and closed his eyes.

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Takigawa nodded. "Thanks for the info... I'll report it to Moriyama-senpai later..." he said. "Saa, we should get going..."

Kimeru checked the time with his watch before nodding. "You're right," he said. "Let's go!"

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As soon as Aiba finished answering he handed the book back to Shirota. "Done with it. Thanks again."

Shirota stirred from his short nap and nodded. "Sure thing..." he replied, taking the book and slipping it back into his bag.

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The day had ended quite quickly for some of the people in Mitsukaru High; among these people were Aiba, whose mind was quite preoccupied with what happened that morning and what he was going to do after school.

Shirota, after the bell rang, stretched his arms out over him. "Finally, classes are over!" he said, turning to Aiba beside him. "Excited for tonight?" he asked cheekily as he got to his feet.

"I have to admit, I am a bit excited about it," Aiba said as he finished arranging his things.

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For Kimeru, however, it seemed that the day stretched on longer than necessary. He did well on the test he had but he had a hard time concentrating; he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about going to the carnival after classes. After all, it was technically a date. That was why as soon as the bell rang, he stuffed his books in his bag, dashed to his locker and bolted towards the school gates.

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After reporting the incident to Moriyama-senpai as he passed the older boy's classroom, Takigawa excused himself and headed off to the school gates to meet with Kimeru.

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Shirota grinned. "Do you want to stop by anywhere before we head there? It's pretty early to be going there right away," he explained, collecting his things.

Aiba thought about this for a moment. "Can we pass the place where they sell those anime series nearby? Kimeru-senpai told me about it and there's something I wanted to see," he said.

Shirota nodded. "Sure. Takigawa-senpai used to take me there quite often before," he said conversationally as he made his way out of the classroom.

Aiba nodded, "Aa. I've never been there before...." he said.

"It's a nice little place," Shirota stated enthusiastically. "They've got a whole lot of series available."

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Kimeru was already by the gates waiting for Takigawa.

Takigawa arrived not long after. "Should we get going?" he inquired.

Kimeru grinned. "Sure. Lead the way," he told him.

Takigawa started off down the road. "There's a place quite near the carnival area, so I figured we'd go there," he stated.

Kimeru nodded. "So what do you want to do once we get there?" he asked.

"To the tea shop or the carnival?" Takigawa inquired in return.

"To the carnival of course," Kimeru said with a chuckle.

"I was thinking we'd go on the rides... Try out a few of the booths..." Takigawa said in thought.

"And of course go to the food booths! Never forget the food booths," Kimeru said pointedly.

Takigawa laughed. "That's right. How could I forget?" he said dramatically.

Kimeru laughed. "You honestly don't expect me to go there and not drag you to at least half of the food booths, do you?" he said.

Takigawa grinned sheepishly. "Seems I've fallen for a fellow food maniac," he teased as they arrived at the shop as they settled down at one of the outside tables and ordered some tea before Takigawa pointed to a certain place. "The carnival's going to be held over there," he explained.

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Aiba thought for a moment. "I wonder if they already have Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz..." he mused.

Shirota patted Aiba on the shoulder. "I'm sure they do!" he replied. "Now hurry up! I happen to remember that a lot of kids go there after school!" he said, taking Aiba by the wrist and pulling him forward as he started running out the school despite the load on his shoulder from his gym bag.

Aiba let himself be led by Shirota to the shop; sure enough there were a lot of people there when they arrived. "Ano sa...Shirota-kun?" Aiba asked before they entered. "Maybe we should pass by the dorms after we finish here to leave some of our stuff," he offered.

Shirota turned to Aiba and nodded. "Good idea," he admitted, managing to make a path, squeezing himself into the shop, pulling Aiba in with him until they managed to get inside.

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Kimeru chuckled. "As they have said: birds of the same feather flock together," he quoted as he looked at the area where Takigawa was pointing at; sure enough he saw what looked like a mini amusement park. "Interesting..." he said.

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After a few minutes of being bumped by random people, Shirota and Aiba went out of the shop. Aiba had managed to find a copy of what he was looking for and bought it. He looked at his watch for a moment before frowning. "We should hurry..." he said as he took hold of Shirota's hand as he started running towards the general direction of the dorms, that were luckily nearby. "Looking around that crowded place took a lot of our time," he explained.

Shirota merely nodded, his gaze fixed to his hand that was intertwined with Aiba's as they dashed towards the dormitories. He felt his cheeks heat up for reasons he didn't know before shaking his head.

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Takigawa thanked the waitress as she came out with their tea. He took his cup and blew off the smoke and took a sip.

Kimeru was quiet as he finished his tea, "Hey Takigawa..." he said suddenly. "I know this sounds redundantly weird but...why do you like me?"

Takigawa traced the rim of his cup with a finger. "Well... How do I put it..." he started slowly. "It's hard to explain..." he admitted.

Kimeru smiled at him. "Don't worry, you don't have to answer anyway…" he said.

"Then I won't," Takigawa replied with a smirk.

Kimeru chuckled. "I'll get it out of you someday," he said.

Takigawa smirked. "You can try, but I might end up showing you why instead of actually telling you..." he said carefully.

Kimeru blinked. "I don't know what you mean but I think that when that happens it would be very interesting..." he said. "...to catch that on film," he added slyly.

"Basically I would much rather show you why I like you through some action than simply stating it in words that may have no meaning in them," Takigawa clarified.

"But still…it would be interesting to watch over and over again since it may only happen once," Kimeru told him.

Takigawa smirked. "That would have to depend on the situation, won't it?"

Kimeru looked at him. "Now you're just creeping me out with that smirk."

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Aiba let go of Shirota's hand as soon as they reached the door to his and Kimeru's dorm room. "Here we are, please don't mind the mess that is also known as Kimeru-senpai's things," he said as he pulled out the key to open the door. He entered the room first and closed the door behind Shirota as he entered. "Feel free to place your bags on my bed," he said as he placed his own bag on the table.

Shirota nodded, moving to set his things down on the boy's bed. "You really like photography, don't you?" Shirota pointed out as he fixed his things after taking a moment's glance at Aiba's side of the room.

Aiba looked up from pulling out something from his bag. "Aa. It's been a hobby of mine since junior high," he said as he sat on the bed. "I think we have a few minutes to catch our breath. Sorry for suddenly pulling you like that."

Shirota straightened up and shook his head. "It's alright. It's like exercise," he explained.

Aiba nodded. "Oh yes, I'm forgetting that I'm talking to one of the school varsity members," he said. "Of course your stamina level would be high…"

Shirota rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yes..." he stated.

"As expected..." Aiba said. He looked at the pictures he had placed on the wall, at a loss of what more to say, seeing that they still have some time to spare.

"A-no..." Shirota piped up. "How did the pictures you take come out? When you visited the team a few days ago, that is..." he inquired.

"Oh those..." Aiba said. "Most of them will be on the school paper which will be released sometime before or after the exams," he said. "And I think I might be visiting your team often..."

Shirota grinned. "That's good to hear! And... are you planning to focus on the team in behalf of the school paper?" he inquired.

"Hai. I'll be in charge of covering the event concerning the soccer team," Aiba said.

Shirota grinned. "Then I'll be expecting you at tomorrow's game, then," he said excitedly.

Aiba nodded. "Sure...I'll be there," he said before consulting the clock on the wall. "I think we better head out," he told Shirota as he stood up and opened the door. "After you," he said.

Shirota slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded, heading out the door.

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Takigawa finished his tea and got to his feet after checking his watch for the time. "Let's get going, then. Shall we?" he inquired, picking up his bag and gestured the way to the carnival.

Kimeru nodded, taking his own bag before following Takigawa to the carnival.

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It wasn't long until Shirota and Aiba reached the carnival as well, though Aiba didn't have an idea that his senpai would be there. They had just entered when Aiba was looking around. _'A-re? Isn't that senpai?'_ he thought but the person vanished as soon as he saw him. He shrugged... _'Must have been my imagination,'_ he told himself.

"Ne ne, Aiba-kun, let's go to that one first!" Shirota stated excitedly, pointing to a game booth.

Aiba nodded. "Sure," he said as he went over to the game booths.

"This one, this one," Shirota said, pointing to the shooting game.

----------

Takigawa pulled Kimeru out of sight when he had spotted Shirota and Aiba from a distance. "We don't want to know we're here too," he hissed before leading him to one of the nearby food booths.

Kimeru grinned. "If that's what you think is best. Though I'm interested on how this will work out," he said before looking around. "Hey look, they have cotton candy!" he said as he pulled Takigawa to the direction of the said food item.

"So am I, but---" Takigawa was cut short when he was pulled off to the cotton candy.

----------

Aiba looked at the game booth. "Shooting game? Go on ahead, Shirota-kun. I'm no good when it comes to those types of games. I'll just watch you," he said.

"Nobody's 'no good'!" Shirota encouraged, handing the gun to Aiba. "You should try it, at least!" he said.

Aiba sighed as he took the gun and took aim, but as he had said earlier, he wasn't really good when it came to aiming. He missed the target. "Why am I not surprised?" he said quietly to himself. After a few more turns he handed the gun to Shirota. "Your turn," he said.

----------

Kimeru bought two of the cotton candy and handed one to Takigawa. "Sorry about that..." he said as he smiled in embarrassment.

Takigawa took the cotton candy and smiled. "No, it's alright. I happen to enjoy cotton candy," he admitted.

Kimeru grinned. "That's a good thing, then!" he said happily.

----------

Shirota took the gun. He carefully took aim and managed to hit the target. After doing so a few more times, he lowered the gun on the counter.

"Congratulations!" the booth operator cheered. "You hit the target enough times to win one of the main prizes. Choose anything you like from our selection on the shelf," he said, gesturing to the shelf decorated with large stuffed animals.

Shirota looked at them for a while before turning to Aiba, grinning. "Which one do you want?" he asked.

Aiba blinked. "E-eh? Me?" he asked. "You go ahead and choose Shirota-kun. You were the one who won anyway..." he said, blushing a bit.

"No, I want you to choose! I was planning to give it to you, anyway..." Shirota explained, scratching his cheek in slight embarrassment.

"Oh...um...then...that one..." he said as he pointed at the panda plushie. The man behind the booth nodded as he handed Aiba the panda. Aiba took it and smiled. "Ano...thanks, Shirota-kun," he said, his blush still not subsiding.

----------

Takigawa moved to see if he could relocate the younger pair, pulling Kimeru behind another booth as he spotted them. He grinned. "Look, Aiba got himself a panda plushie," he declared.

Kimeru finished off his cotton candy and looked at the two. "It looks like Shirota-kun got it for him, though..." he said as he observed the scenario. "Young love..." he said with a chuckle.

Takigawa chuckled. "You're probably right."

----------

"No problem," Shirota replied with a nervous grin. "Saa, what do you want to do?" Shirota inquired distractedly as he looked at the other booths.

"I'm not sure..." Aiba said as he held the plushie closer and looked around.

----------

"Over here!" Shirota called, moving forward to another booth. A few kids were tossing around a water balloon back and forth between themselves.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "LOOK OUT!"

Shirota turned around and just managed to side-step out of the way, dodging the water balloon. "Hey, watch where--" he was cut short, however, when a big splash resounded behind him. The next thing Shirota knew, he was soaked by the excess water that flowed out from the tank.

Aiba blinked at he saw Shirota dodge. "That was--" he was cut off as he saw Shirota soaked by the water that came from the tank just behind him.

"Ah, gomen!" the booth operator said, approaching the drenched Shirota and handing him a towel. "We didn't expect the water to overflow like that..." he apologized.

Shirota took the towel and grinned, wrapping it around him. "It's fine. It was my mistake for staying too close to the dunking tank," he said in reply.

Aiba looked away, his body shaking. A few moments later he was laughing so hard that his sides started to hurt. He knew he must have looked like an idiot but he just couldn't control it.

----------

"He....he's laughing....he's actually laughing!!" Kimeru said as he watched with wide eyes. "I can't believe it!"

Takigawa turned to Kimeru. "He's never laughed before?" he asked incredulously.

"I never heard him laugh before...he's always been so serious," Kimeru explained. "Well who would've guessed that your boy over there would be the one to break the ice?" he said in amusement.

Takigawa looked over to Shirota and smiled. "Good job, Shirotan," he said to himself.

Kimeru chuckled. "Come on let's leave those two alone," he said as he pulled Takigawa away.

Takigawa nodded, finishing his cotton candy along the way.

-----------

After a few moments Aiba managed to calm himself down. "Gomen Shirota-kun! But that was just..." he was cut off by another round of laughter, but a bit more controlled this time. "G-Gomen!" he said again as he tried to stifle his laughter.

Shirota looked over to Aiba, frowning for a moment before breaking into a grin as he used the towel to dry his hair. He moved up to Aiba and grinned once more. "I'm glad I got you to laugh," he stated.

Aiba's laughter had died down. "Sorry for laughing at you," he said with an apologetic smile.

"It seems you're the type who's amused by other's silly misfortunes..." Shirota assumed.

Aiba looked away in embarrassment. "I...guess so..." he said.

Shirota merely smiled before pointing to another game booth. "Do you want to try fishing?" he inquired.

Aiba nodded. "Sure, maybe this time I could win you a prize," he said.

Shirota grinned before approaching the booth while using the towel to try and dry his clothes even slightly.

----------

Kimeru led them to one of the rides. "Let's do the bumper cars!" he said as he got to the line. "Mou...lines are always long..." he muttered. "When I get famous we'll go to a carnival again and we won't have to fall in line!" he proclaimed.

Takigawa laughed. "Would you even be free to go to one? A singer's career is a bit too unpredictable," he stated seriously.

Kimeru smiled. "Don't worry!" he told Takigawa. "I'm sure I'll be able to pull a few strings!" he said.

Takigawa chuckled as they moved forward in the line. "I'm sure you will."

----------

As soon as they arrived at the booth, Aiba tried his luck. "Let's see..." he said as he played. He did manage to get a prize this time, though it wasn't as big as what Shirota got for him, having only gotten the knack of it on the third try. "Here...sorry that it's small," he said as he handed over a little white mini-Mokona plushie.

Shirota took it and smiled. "A prize is a prize. Size is secondary," he stated warmly. "Thanks for the effort," he added.

Aiba smiled. "No problem...hey! Let's try that one!" he said as he went towards one of those dart games.

Shirota followed Aiba. "I like this one," he expressed happily.

----------

The line moved quicker than the both had expected. Kimeru had chosen one of the blue cars. He looked at Takigawa to see if the other would join him or go individually.

Takigawa took a moment's glance around before joining Kimeru in the car. "You _have_ done this before, haven't you?" he inquired, halfway from putting the safety harness around him, buckling it in place.

"Of course I have. I used to battle Daisuke and the others on these..." he said with a smirk. "...get ready..." he said before the bell to signal the start rang. He stepped on the pedal, making the car jerk before speeding off to the center of the area. Kimeru turned sharply to avoid getting hit and managed to hit all the cars there that were moving in a span of a few minutes. When the ride ended he smiled at Takigawa. "That was fun!" he said happily.

----------

Aiba sighed as he noticed that he didn't hit any of the targets. "This just proves that my aim is really bad..." he said. "But oh well."

"A-no..." Shirota supplied, tapping Aiba on the shoulder as he gestured to the booth operator.

"Your friend won a prize! Which would you like?" he inquired, gesturing to the objects he had placed on the counter.

Aiba's eyes widened as he looked at the things placed on the table, again they were major prizes.

"A-re? ...You're really good when it comes to these games..." Aiba said as he picked the medium sized brown bear.

Shirota scratched his cheek. "Yes, well... My brother used to take me to this kind of place when I was younger..." he explained.

Aiba nodded. "Well...it paid off, look at your skills," he said as he raised the plushie that he had just acquired.

Shirota nodded. "It took me some time. So don't worry if you can't do it now. You'll only improve if you put in the effort to make better next time!" he said encouragingly.

----------

Takigawa, glued to his seat, heaved a huge sigh of relief when the ride came to an end. He turned to Kimeru and forced a smile. "A...Aa..." _'He'll be a maniac driver if and when he starts driving...'_ he concluded in his head.

Kimeru got out of the car and dragged Takigawa outside. "Where do you want to go next?" he asked.

Takigawa looked around. "How about that?" he inquired, pointing to the Ferris Wheel.

Kimeru raised an eyebrow, "Ferris Wheel?" he asked. "I guess it's fine...let's go before the line get's long then!" he said as he took Takigawa by the hand and led him to the line for the Ferris Wheel.

Takigawa looked at the structure for a while as they settled to wait in line. _'It looks stable enough...'_

----------

Aiba nodded. "Hai. And maybe that time I could get you a more decent prize instead of the other way around," he said.

Shirota grinned. "I'm looking forward to that," he said happily, looking around. "Where to now?" he asked.

----------

Kimeru grinned as soon as they were able to ride in one of the carts. "This one I haven't been on before, I've heard from Furukawa though that the view at the top is amazing!" he said as one of the operators closed the door of the cart once they were inside.

Takigawa nodded. "It is," he confirmed.

----------

Aiba looked around and spotted the Ferris Wheel; it was already nearing sundown and he wanted to see the view. "There," he said, pointing at the ride.

----------

"So you rode this before?" Kimeru asked as the ride started moving bit by bit towards the top. Once they reached the highest point Kimer looked out. "Look! Just in time for the sunset!" he said happily, as he looked at the view.

A few moments later the ride jerked to a stop. "What's going on?" Kimeru said as he looked at Takigawa.

_"We're experiencing minor technical problems, we would like to ask the passengers to not panic as the technical team will do their best to get the ride moving again," _a voice on loudspeaker said from the ground.

----------

"And here I thought that the rides here are well-maintained," Aiba said as he looked at the ride. "Changed my mind, that will take a while...let's go find something to eat instead," he told Shirota.

Shirota nodded. "Good idea," he said, adjusting his hold on Aiba's panda plushie as they headed off to a random food booth.

----------

Kimeru sighed as he sat back down. "Now why does this whole situation seem too cliched?" he asked before looking at Takigawa. _'Either that or I've read too many of Furukawa's shojo mangas....then again...why do I read them?!'_ he thought. The sun was setting in the horizon, giving the cart an orange glow inside, causing the atmosphere to seem more --as Kimeru dejectedly admitted to himself-- romantic. Kimeru closed his eyes as an attempt to not think of anything else.

Takigawa sighed. "I had a feeling something like this would happen..." he admitted. "Well, at least we'll have an extended time viewing this sunset from here, na?" he tried.

Kimeru smiled as he looked at the sunset before turning his attention back to Takigawa. "You have a point there," he said, "It's not like we're in a hurry anyway, right?"

"Of course we're not," Takigawa replied with a grin. "Let's just enjoy the moment," he said.

----------

Aiba and Shirota had managed to find some seats near the food booths. Aiba looked at his two plushies, the smile still on his face. "I still can't believe that you won two major prizes..." he said.

"I told you it was because I've done it a lot... I just got lucky this time around..." Shirota defended.

"Yes, that's true but....it's still two major prizes..." Aiba said.

Shirota sighed. "I guess I can't stop you from being amazed, huh?" he stated as he decided to concentrate on his food.

"Aa...after all...it's not every day that someone plays games in a carnival and gives the prizes to me..." Aiba said carefully.

----------

Kimeru nodded. "Aa..." he answered as he looked outside again to see the faint orange glow of the sunset envelope the city. It seemed like it wasn't the city that Kimeru grew up in; it was as if that nothing awful happens at some places in that area...it just looked absolutely perfect. He smiled at the thought.

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru, smiling fondly at how the sunset had illuminated the boy perfectly. He chuckled. "Kimeru... I'm glad you agreed to come to the carnival with me," he began.

Kimeru looked at him with a smile still on his lips. "I'm glad I came too, Takigawa…" he said.

Takigawa looked into Kimeru's eyes for a long moment before he slowly inched closer. Suddenly, the Ferris Wheel jerked, causing Takigawa towards Kimeru as their lips brushed for the whole of two seconds before Takigawa immediately pulled back, blushing furiously. "Gomen..." he replied.

Kimeru's eyes widened as he felt their lips connect. He blushed as soon as they parted, averting his gaze to the ground. He was going to say something when the voice on the loudspeaker spoke about the ride being fixed.

_"We're sorry for the wait. The technicians have fixed the ride and we'll be evacuating the passengers one cart at a time. We thank you for your patience,"_ the voice called through the loudspeaker.

Takigawa looked away before distractedly feeling the ride slowly starting to move once more. "Looks like they've fixed the problem," Takigawa noted quietly.

Kimeru decided to just keep quiet until they got down from the ride wherein as soon as they were away from the crowd surrounding the ride, he took hold of Takigawa's hand. He grinned at him before turning his attention to the direction of the booths nearby. "We should look for Shirota-kun and Aiba..." he said as he led Takigawa to the booths.

Takigawa nodded. "A...Aa..." he said quietly.

----------

Shirota disposed of the plate he had before getting to his feet, taking hold of Aiba's panda plushie. "That was satisfying," he stated.

Aiba nodded as he disposed his own plate as he took his bear plushie and stood up as well. What he saw next though, made him stop. "Shirota-kun....that...isn't that Kimeru-senpai and Takigawa-senpai?" he asked as he pointed to the two that were just a few booths away from them.

Shirota squinted his eyes before nodding. "Yeah," he replied, turning to Aiba with a smile before glancing back at them. "Wait, what?!" he added, pointing at them. "What are they doing here?!"

Aiba blinked. "That's what I want to--- Shirota-kun...they're holding hands...." he observed as the two walked around, apparently looking for something.

Takigawa's search ended as he pointed to the younger two. "There they are," he said as he and Kimeru walked up to them.

"What are you doing here?" Shirota repeated.

"Kimeru-senpai...aren't you supposed to be studying with Takigawa-senpai instead of dragging him out to a..." Aiba paused; looking at the two's intertwined hands. "...date," he finished.

Kimeru grinned at him. "Takigawa was the one who invited me, Aiba...and besides a little break won't hurt," he said.

Shirota looked over to Takigawa, who had rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. The younger boy smirked. "After giving me your passes..." Shirota said, shaking his head.

"Abe-kun offered his passes... I had planned on taking it easy today with Kimeru-kun so I accepted them..." Takigawa muttered in reply.

Silence fell over the four after a while. Aiba was the one who broke it. "I think we better head back," he said as he looked at his watch.

Kimeru nodded. "That's right. Is Shirota-kun coming with us?" he asked.

"Aa. His things are in the dorm room," Aiba answered.

Kimeru looked at Shirota and then Aiba. "In the dorm room?" he asked.

"It's not like we would enjoy the day walking around with our school bags..." Aiba said.

"We did," Kimeru countered.

"You should change," Takigawa pointed out to Shirota, gesturing to his semi-wet clothes.

Shirota nodded. "I have an extra pair of clothes in my gym bag," he explained.

----------

The four headed off to the dorms afterwards. Aiba and Kimeru were having a verbal warfare all the way back, Kimeru had been smirking the whole way while Aiba frowned. When they reached the dorms, it was Kimeru who opened the door. "Come on in. Don't mind the mess," he said.

Shirota stepped inside and knowingly made his way to Aiba's bed, setting the boy's panda plushie on it in exchange with his bags as he took them.

Takigawa entered the dorm and took a moment to examine the place.

"Ne, where's the bathroom?" Shirota inquired.

"Right there," Aiba said as he pointed to a door inside the room. "I almost forgot...I'll just get something from Adachi downstairs," he added before leaving the room.

Kimeru nodded at him and watched Shirota make his way to the bathroom. As soon as the doors closed, Kimeru looked at Takigawa. "Hey…about earlier..." he said slyly.

----------

Shirota set his bag down as soon as he closed the door and began to change his clothes. _'Of all the times to get my uniform wet...'_ he scolded himself.

----------

Takigawa turned to Kimeru before the blush reappeared on his cheeks. "W...What about it?"

Kimeru kicked the door closed from behind him and advanced on Takigawa. "Oh…nothing much…" he said slyly, a smirk on his lips. "I just thought that you might want to do it properly." He then took hold of Takigawa's necktie and pulled him down for a kiss.

Takigawa, taken aback for a moment, took a while before his brain had registered what was happening as he returned the kiss. He pulled back before nodding nervously. "I wasn't really expecting..." he trailed off, unsure how to phrase his thinking.

Kimeru grinned as he stepped back and sat on the bed. "Wasn't expecting what, exactly?" he asked.

Takigawa cleared his throat. "Nothing... You do the most unexpected things sometimes..." he stated.

Kimeru chuckled. "That's one thing that you should get used to, then," he said with a grin.

"I'm back..." Aiba said as he entered the room. "Takigawa-senpai...your face is red...are you alright?" he asked.

Takigawa waved his hand. "It's nothing," he replied hastily.

Shirota emerged from the bathroom, having changed into his track pants and a dry shirt. He looked amongst the group. "Did anything interesting happen?" he inquired.

Kimeru simply grinned and Aiba seemed to have taken the hint. "Oh...." he said in realization, looking back and forth between the two second years.

"Time we got going!" Takigawa announced, taking his bag in one hand and Shirota's wrist in the other.

Shirota managed to grab his things before calling out, "See you tomorrow, Aiba-kun!" just as Takigawa had opened the door and left the dorm with the younger boy.

----------

Kimeru burst out laughing as the two left, while Aiba went to the bathroom to change.

When he got out a few moments later, Kimeru took his turn. "Hey Ai--" Kimeru stopped when he saw Aiba asleep on the bed. Kimeru grinned. "He must have been so tired and he didn't even tell Shirota..." he said as he noticed something. "A-re? He's smiling...." he muttered as he looked at Aiba.

The younger boy was holding the giant plushie that was almost half his size; he was clearly asleep but the smile was unmistakable. Kimeru reached for the camera on the table and turned off the flash. He adjusted a bit so the shot he would take would be clear. He snapped the picture and smiled. "Good night, Aiba," he said quietly before slipping into bed and falling asleep as well.

----------

On the way to their houses, Shirota brought up a strange conversation. "Ne, Eiji-kun..."

"What is it?" Takigawa inquired.

"There was this strange feeling I had when I was with Aiba-kun earlier... I can't really describe it..." he said carefully.

Takigawa thought about it for a moment. "When exactly were you feeling that way?"

Shirota blushed. "On the way to the dorms... He grabbed my hand..." he muttered.

Takigawa saw this kind of behavior and laughed, patting Shirota on the back. "You don't understand it, right? Why that type of gesture made you feel strange?" Shirota nodded. "Well, that's because you like him," he replied bluntly.

Shirota glanced over to Takigawa. "W...What?!"

"I'm serious," Takigawa continued. "I was feeling the same way with Kimeru..." he stated fondly. He stopped when he noticed that they had reached his house. "Looks like we part ways here. Good luck in your game tomorrow, Shirotan," he said, waving before heading to his front door.

Shirota watched Takigawa before shrugging, continuing a few more houses before reaching his own and resigned to his room.

Aiba woke up the next day to the sound of his alarm. _'Strange...I don't remember setting it,'_ he thought as he sat up and yawned.

"Oi, Aiba...you're going to be late for Shirota-kun's game if you sleep in!" a voice said from the bathroom.

"I'm up..." Aiba muttered as he stood, looking around. Kimeru stepped out of the bathroom, pulling a shirt over his head.

"I'll go ahead of you, I'll be back sometime after lunch," Kimeru said.

Aiba nodded. "Aa...I'll just be at the game and maybe I'll come back after..." he said.

----------

Kimeru knocked at Takigawa's door. He hoped that the other boy was home. He looked at the picture he was holding and smirked. _'It took a while to print but it was worth it.'_ It was the picture he took of Aiba the night before.

----------

Aiba reached the venue of the game with a camera, notebook and pen in hand. He had received a message that day that his request of being in charge of covering the soccer team's activities had been approved. He went to the game for the school paper and to secretly cheer Shirota on.

----------

Shirota was doing some stretching with his partner Kentarou. The final line-up was announced earlier that morning and the team had been doing individual drills to warm up. Shirota got to his feet and nodded to Kentarou, who wanted to do some practice shots on goal.

"Today's the day," Zukki said, walking up to his teammate. "You excited?" he inquired.

Shirota nodded with a grin on his face. "Of course. The first game we're playing with the varsity team," he explained.

Zukki chuckled. "True..."

"Shirota!" Wada called.

"Hai!" Shirota ran up to him.

"Your position is vital. Show me how well you can play midfield-striker, okay?" Wada said, patting the younger boy on the shoulder encouragingly.

Shirota nodded. "Hai, buchou!"

----------

Takigawa checked the time. It was almost time for Shirota's game to start. He was preparing to bring Pearl out for a walk before he heard a knock on the door. He went to open it. "Ha--Kimeru? What are you doing here?" he inquired.

Kimeru handed the picture to Takigawa. "After the game...give this to Shirota-kun. I'm sure he'll appreciate it," he said.

----------

Aiba had managed to get a good position to get some good pictures for the game. He adjusted the lens so that it would be ready for taking pictures once the game starts.

----------

Takigawa took the picture and smirked. "I'm pretty sure he will..." he replied, nodding.

"The game is today, right? Why don't we go and watch?" Kimeru asked.

Takigawa looked over to Pearl before moving to attach the leash to the harness. "I was planning on walking Pearl anyway. It would be nice to see Shirota play again. Let's go," he said, setting the picture on the table by the door and exited the house, locking the door behind him before they headed off for the school where the game was.

----------

After final instructions were given to the team by Wada, the game was just about ready to start as both teams got into position on the field. The referee handed the ball to Kentarou, who set it down on the mark. The coin toss had been in Mitsukaru's favor so they were awarded the kick-off. The whistle was blown, and the game began.

Aiba held his camera in place as he watched Shirota move. He forgot for a while what he was supposed to be doing before standing up to take pictures, writing notes every now and then as the game went on.

----------

"Over here!" Kamakari 'Kenken' Kenta called as Wada passed him the ball. The players from Taito High attempted an interception but Kenken managed to get to the ball and passed it forward to a waiting Shirota.

Shirota took quick aim at the goal and kicked the ball as it sped past the keeper and the whistle blew, signaling their first point.

"Nice pass, Kenken!" Shirota he called; running back to their part of the field.

----------

Kimeru nodded. "Let's see if Aiba's actually doing his job..." he said with a chuckle.

Takigawa chuckled. "I'm sure he would be," he stated, Pearl walking ahead of them, sniffing around the pavement as they neared the school where they heard some cheering in the distance.

----------

Aiba watched as the game progressed; he had managed to get a list of the names of the other players earlier, thus giving him an opportunity to quickly identify the players on the field. He looked around through the view finder of his camera to snap a picture of the crowd.

He looked up when he heard that the crowd cheered about something and saw Shirota with the ball, running to the other side of the field. He carefully adjusted the lens of the camera and took a shot. _'This will make a good main picture for the article,'_ he thought as he smiled.

----------

"Zukki!!" Shirota called after managing to intercept a pass and kicked the ball over to Zukki, who took it forward and passed it on to Kentarou who took a shot on goal and scored, causing the crowd to cheer once more.

_'Shirota... Kanesaki... Suzuki... Kamakari...Those freshmen are a nice addition to the team...'_ Wada thought to himself, smiling from his spot on the field. _'It looks like we'll have a chance in the tournament this time.'_

Aiba snapped a picture of Kentarou scoring a point before jotting something down.

----------

As soon as they reached the field Kimeru looked around. "There he is," he said as he pointed at Aiba before looking at the field. "And there's Shirota," he added.

Takigawa looked around, locating the scoreboard. "They're already leading by 2 goals. That's not so much of a surprise..." he stated as they watched Taito kick off to attempt to score.

----------

There was a fierce battle for the ball that arose at mid-field. A mix of Mitsukaru and Taito players collided with one another before one of the Taito players managed to break away with the black and white, continuing towards the Mitsukaru net.

"Kujirai!" Wada called.

"I got it!" he replied, running up to intercept the ball. The Taito player, however, surprised everyone and took a long shot as the ball flew past both Kujirai and the keeper Irei Kanata.

"Don't mind, don't mind!" Shirota hollered to his teammates as the crowd from Taito cheered. "We'll get it back!" he reassured them as he went to retrieve the ball so they could restart the game.

----------

Aiba looked around the crowd and spotted Kimeru and Takigawa nearby; he thought about going to them but decided against it as he still needed to finish his job.

----------

Kimeru sighed as he watched the game. "Quite the mood maker..." he commented as he watched Shirota get the ball. "He'll make a nice captain in his senior year."

Takigawa nodded in agreement. "He was captain of the Soccer team last year in his senior year at junior high. Led them to the Nationals and ended up winning it all," he stated. "So he's used to these kinds of situations and knows just what to say to bring his teammates' spirits up."

----------

Wada watched Shirota before breaking into a grin. _'Shirota Yuu... Captain of the Hirokoshi Junior High Soccer team that won the National tournament in their division... I'm glad he came to Mitsukaru...'_ he thought in satisfaction. "Yosh! Let's get back that goal we lost!" he cried as the team cheered in agreement.

Kenken passed the ball back to Wada, who started the attack with both Shirota and Kentarou running ahead of him. Wada smartly evaded an incoming tackle as he jumped and passed the ball over to Shirota, who took it and continued forward. He began using a few tricks to get past the Taito players - whether it was heeling the ball overhead, making fake sidesteps or simply kicking it through their legs, Shirota reached the penalty area and found an opening and tapped the ball sideways to settle the ball in front of a charging Kentarou, who took a massive shot that was deflected by the keeper.

The ball rose into the air as Shirota went to take the rebound and jumped up, heading the ball back towards the net. "Get in the goal!" he called as the ball bounced off the ground and snuck past the keeper and into the goal, scoring another goal.

----------

Kimeru grinned. "That sounds great. Then maybe we have a chance to get to win something this year," he said.

"According to the information I gathered, the Mitsukaru Senior High Soccer team has never reached anything above third place since 1985 and by the looks of this game alone I think it would be safe to say that we have a chance this year," Aiba said, appearing behind them, causing Kimeru to jump in surprise.

"Don't do that!!" Kimeru said.

Aiba blinked. "Do what?"

Takigawa laughed at this. "In any case, Aiba-kun is right," he said, turning back to the field. "They've gotten a lot stronger with the addition of those four freshmen," he stated. "Shirota, Kanesaki, Kamakari and Suzuki..."

----------

The game continued until the first half come to a close with the blow of a whistle. The score remained at 3-1 in Mitsukaru's favor as the teams went to their benches for a short break.

"Good job, everyone!" Wada praised as his teammates sank to the ground or to the benches, slightly out of breath. Some were bringing towels to their faces while others quenched their thirst with water. "The game is moving in our pace. Let's keep it up and get us more goals!" The team nodded.

----------

Aiba jotted down a few things while it was halftime.

"Can I see the pictures you took?" Kimeru asked and Aiba nodded, handing him the digital camera. Kimeru moved back a bit to show Takigawa as well. "Why am I not surprised that this is all Shiro--"

"The other players are there too," Aiba said quickly, snatching the camera back.

"Minna!" Shirota called, jogging up to them as soon as he spotted them. "Glad you could all make it," he said, grinning before he heard some barking. It wasn't long before Pearl had jumped onto the boy, causing him to collapse to the ground, laughing. "Pearl, get off!" he cried as the Yorkshire proceeded to lick Shirota on the face.

Takigawa laughed. "Pearl, don't jump on Shirotan like that," he scolded lightly.

"You're doing great out there," Aiba said as he took the dog from Shirota, patting it before handing her to Takigawa.

Kimeru nodded. "Even from this side of the field I can still say that you're good," he said.

Shirota got to his feet and nodded to them. "Thanks for the compliments..." he said humbly, grinning.

Takigawa took Pearl from Aiba, stroking her as he said, "You'll be going full steam at the start of this second half, right?"

Shirota nodded to Takigawa. "Aa." He turned and saw that Kujirai was waving at him to come back. "I got to be heading back now. Enjoy the rest of the game!" he called before jogging back to the field to begin the second half.

"We will!" Kimeru called out after him.

"I'm going back to my place near the bleachers, want to come with me?" Aiba asked them.

"Hmm...Sounds like a good idea," Kimeru said.

Takigawa nodded as they followed Aiba to the bleachers.

----------

The second half of the game brought about a sudden flare from Mitsukaru. Play after play, Shirota, Kentarou, Wada and Kenken were the most active, intercepting passes or stealing the ball from their opponents and passing it forward, leaving Shirota or Kentarou to score. When the final whistle was blown, the game ended with a score of 6-2 in Mitsukaru's favor.

----------

When the game had ended and the players were allowed to leave, Aiba, Kimeru and Takigawa waited for Shirota by the school gates.

Aiba looked at his watch for a while, consulting it for the time. "I think we still have some time..." he muttered.

"Time for what?" Kimeru asked him.

"I"ll tell you when Shirota-kun comes," Aiba said.

Shirota, having changed from his soccer uniform, jogged to the gates to meet the three. "Thanks for waiti-- No, Pearl!" he said, stepping back as Pearl attempted to jump on him again but was held back by Takigawa gently pulling on the leash.

"Congratulations, Shirotan," Takigawa greeted.

Kimeru laughed when he saw Pearl try to jump on Shirota. "She seems to like you a lot," he observed.

Aiba looked at them then at his watch again. "Ne, Shirota-kun...where would you like to have lunch? It's my treat...you can come along too, senpai-tachi," he said as he looked at the three.

Shirota turned to Aiba and blinked. "H...Hontou?!" he exclaimed.

"And since when were you up to treating people out to lunch, Aiba-kun?" Takigawa inquired.

Aiba just shrugged. "It seems proper since it _is _Shirota-kun's first game...and I know that Kimeru-senpai didn't have breakfast," he stated.

Kimeru chuckled. "That's true."

"So where do you want to eat, Shirota-kun?" Aiba asked again.

"Anywhere is fine," Shirota replied. "I don't really mind where."

"Okay," Aiba answered before leading them to a nearby restaurant.

----------

After an hour and a half that was spent inside, the four soon returned to their own homes and --in Kimeru and Aiba's case-- dorms.

Before they knew it, it was Monday again. Aiba as usual was early for his classes. He was going to submit his article after school and hopefully it would be part of the next issue.

----------

Kimeru, in the meantime was looking around lazily at his friends; the second years were at the auditorium for their first period. It was something about an outbound activity on Wednesday and Kimeru wasn't exactly listening for details.

"...so go ahead and pick a partner. You're allowed to pick a partner from another class but make sure..."

That sentence got Kimeru to turn his attention to the speaker. _'From another class...so that means...'_ he smirked. _'I can be partnered with Takigawa.'_

As soon as the teacher finished talking there was a line in front to register their partners. Kimeru managed to get to the line before it got too long. "A-re? Kimeru-kun? But you already have a partner."

Kimeru's eyes widened. "What? Who?" he asked.

"Abe Yoshitsugu-kun from section one," the teacher answered.

Kimeru got out of the line and looked around, only to see Abe waving at him. _'What the heck?!'_

----------

Takigawa remained in his seat as he watched the rest of their batch line up and sign up with their partners. He sighed. _'Well, it would be no point in fighting over partners at this sort of thing...'_ he reasoned with himself.

----------

"I can never beat you to be first in class, Aiba-kun..." Shirota said with a mock pout, the mini-Mokona plushie he had gotten from the other boy decorated his book bag as he hung it on the side of his desk.

Aiba looked over at Shirota and shrugged. "I just wake up early that's all…" he answered as he turned his attention to the article he was reading. _'So if I place that picture here...'_ he thought as he looked at an empty box above the article.

-----------

Kimeru frowned as he went back to the bleachers heading to where he was sitting a while ago.

"Kimeru-kun!" Abe said as he approached him.

Kimeru sighed and looked at Abe. "Yes, Abe-kun?"

"I'm sorry for not asking you about this, but I hope you don't mind being my partner," Abe said carefully.

"I don't mind Abe-kun," Kimeru said with a smile.

Abe sighed in relief. "Thanks Kimeru-kun! I'll see you around, then!" he said.

"Aa. See you around," Kimeru answered.

Abe stood and went back over to where their section was as he immediately approached Takigawa. "Takigawa-kun! Guess who I got to be my partner!" he said enthusiastically.

Takigawa, having watched their earlier conversation from his place stated, "Kimeru-kun, na?"

Abe nodded. "Hai. I honestly thought that he was going to get mad about it since I didn't ask him first, but he said he didn't mind. Can you believe it?" he asked.

Furukawa overheard this and came closer just as Abe left to talk to Baba Toru who was beside him. "You don't mind this?" Furukawa asked Takigawa.

Takigawa heaved a sigh and massaged his temples. "There's no point in arguing about it now... Abe-kun seems keen on being able to have Kimeru as his partner. I don't want to impose myself on them..." he replied.

The teacher walked up to them. "Takigawa-kun... It seems you're the only one without a partner. Is that fine with you?" he inquired.

Takigawa gave a small smile and nodded. "Hai."

Furukawa just patted him on the shoulder. "Knowing Kimeru he'll be able to think of something to make it up to you..." he said.

"Oi Furukawa! What are you doing talking to that wall?!" Daisuke called out from the top area of the bleachers.

Furukawa sighed. "I'll see you," he said before standing up to rejoin Daisuke and their group.

----------

After a while they were asked to go back to their classes, Kimeru knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter anymore and decided not to brood about it. _'At least there's still a chance that I'll be with Takigawa...wherever we're going...'_ he thought.

----------

After classes, Aiba had gone straight to the School Paper office to submit his article while Kimeru waited for Takigawa outside his classroom.

----------

Takigawa wrote the homework for Math before standing, fixing his things.

"Na, Takigawa-kun," Tuti called. "I heard you were left without a partner for the field trip... Are you fine with that?" he asked worriedly.

Takigawa clipped his book bag closed. "I don't mind..." he replied. "Ja, I'll be going ahead, Tuti." With that, he headed outside and stopped when he saw Kimeru. "Let's get going, shall we?" he said as he started off down the hall.

"Sure," Kimeru said with a grin.

----------

Shirota had gone off to the Council room to help with a few things while Takigawa continued with the Student Partner Program.

----------

Aiba left the room to find the hallway empty. He sighed as he headed outside the campus. His phone rang and he pulled it out from his bag; it was his mother. He stopped walking and stared at the screen for some time until the ringing stopped. He sighed heavily before deciding to turn off his phone. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before walking on.

----------

The study session at Takigawa's place carried on as usual that Monday night. He and Kimeru had tackled Math and took much longer than usual before Kimeru understood how to use the formulas correctly before Takigawa told him he could return to his dorm.

----------

Shirota, having arrived home from school that afternoon, chased his brother Jun around the house. The younger of the two was shouting to give back his bag when the older Shirota had spotted the miniature plushie and asked him about it repeatedly, threatening not to give the bag back until Yuu had answered his question.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	5. I Want to Be with You

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 5th chapter entitled **I Want to Be with You**. This chapter relays the junior's field trip to the mountains, where we witness Kimeru's longing to be with Takigawa. If you recall, the partners were finalized in the previous chapter (so Kimeru is paired with Abe-kun, and Takigawa is left without any partner), so the field trip is set around this circumstance. On the side, we get to know a little bit more about Aiba and his family.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

School proceeded as usual for the following day, with Shirota and Takigawa immersed in varsity practice after school. It wasn't long before the day of the juniors' field trip arrived.

Takigawa was already on the bus, seated somewhere near the back, his bag on the floor.

Kimeru and Abe were seated on the second to the last seat of the bus, on the other side of where Takigawa was seated. In the back seats --the one just behind them-- were Naoya, Sota, Daisuke and Furukawa.

Three sections were mixed up and the filled up two and a half buses. For their bus, the teacher in charge was Ueshima-sensei, a first year homeroom adviser that was asked to come along.

As soon as the bus started moving, chaos ensued. Toru and Nakagauchi, who were seated a few seats from Kimeru and Abe, were singing various songs. The pair across them, Kujirai and Hayashino, was arguing about one thing or another.

Furukawa had wondered what their teacher was going to do something about it when he found Ueshima laughing along some other second years in front.

Takigawa settled with spending the trip gazing outside his window or even taking a nap, oblivious to the noise around them.

----------

Kimeru spent the trip listening to Abe talk about various things and before he knew it they already arrived at the area.

"Alright everyone! Wake your partners up and form a line outside!" Ueshima said from up front.

Kimeru glanced at Takigawa and saw he was asleep.

"A-re? Takigawa's still asleep. Someone should wake him," Abe said.

"I'll do it!" Kimeru said quickly as he went over to Takigawa's side. "Oi Takigawa, wake up! We're here!" he said as he shook him in an attempt to get the boy to wake up.

"I'll wait for you outside, Kimeru-kun," Abe said with a smile and Kimeru nodded at him.

"Takigawa!" he tried again. "Oi! Takigawa!...Eiji!!" Kimeru said.

Furukawa and Ueshima -- who were by the door of the bus-- looked at one another and grinned.

Takigawa's eyes slowly blinked themselves awake. "We're here...?" he inquired before seeing Kimeru. "Ah, gomen..." He bent down and retrieved his things before getting to his feet. "Thanks for waking me, Kimeru-kun," he said with a smile. "Saa, let's get going."

Kimeru simply nodded as he went outside, stopping to stand beside Abe who was at the end of the line.

"Alright kids! You better be ready because we're not stopping until we're midway to the top of that mountain!" one of the teachers said as he pointed to the mountain behind him.

Kimeru's eyes widened. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!!" he yelled, causing the people in front of them to cover their ears.

"I'm afraid that we are! Don't worry Kimeru-kun. I'm sure you'll make it," Ueshima said with a chuckle.

The batch of juniors and the two teachers started their trek uphill. Takigawa opted to stay at the back, watching the others and enjoying the view at the same time. _'Looks like this trip might just turn out to be a good one... It's a nice location...'_ he noted to himself.

They weren't even halfway and Kimeru was already panting. "This is...insane...I can't...do this…" he muttered as he paused for a while.

"Here, Kimeru-kun…it would be easier if you didn't have that bag," Abe said as he took Kimeru's bag before the other could complain.

"Ah...Abe-kun, you don't have to do that, I can still manage," Kimeru said.

Abe shook his head. "You're already having a hard time as is. I don't mind carrying it," he reassured him with a smile.

Kimeru blinked at him. "Thanks..." he said simply as he started walking again.

Takigawa observed this before shrugging, stopping and set his bag down.

"A-re? Something wrong, Takigawa-kun?" Ueshima inquired, noticing that Takigawa had fallen behind.

Takigawa zipped his bag open and rummaged through it before pulling out a bag of chips. Closing his bag once more, he brought it over his shoulders before heading up after Kimeru and tossed it to him. "That should give you _some_ strength to keep going..." he stated simply.

Ueshima smirked and followed after them. _'That guy...'_

Kimeru caught the bag of chips with ease. "Thanks!" he called over with a grin as he opened the bag and proceeded to eat its contents. "Want some?" he asked Abe who shook his head.

"Go on ahead, Kimeru-kun," he said.

----------

It wasn't long before they reached the midpoint of the mountain. "I think I'm going to die..." Kimeru muttered as he sat on the ground, his friends went over, laughing at him.

"So this is why you never came to the road trip we had last summer," Nagayan teased.

"All right kids! We're stopping here for the hour so rest and have lunch!" a teacher announced.

"Takigawa-kun!" Naoya called. "Want to have lunch with us?" he inquired. Kujirai and Hayashino, as well as Ryunosuke and Kanata were there with him.

Takigawa looked around for a moment before nodding. "Aa," he replied, walking over to their group.

Kimeru frowned as he saw Takigawa join his own group of friends. "You honestly expected him to hang out with us?" Daisuke asked. "Come on Kime, he has his own life," he added.

Kimeru looked at the lunch – one that he bullied Aiba into making-- that he brought along. "I know that, Daisuke...so drop it unless you want to roll down the mountain path," he said with a glare.

Daisuke raised his hands and backed away. "I just wanted to state a fact, Kime."

"That's enough Daisuke. Let Kimeru have his lunch..." Furukawa said.

Their group talked about other things to get Kimeru's mind thinking about something else.

----------

Soon, they had to get going again. "Thanks, Abe-kun. I'll be able to take carry my things for the rest of the way," Kimeru said before Abe could take his bag again.

"Are you sure? Cause I really don't mind..." Abe said.

Kimeru smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be fine, Abe-kun," he assured him.

Abe wasn't sure why that statement caused him to blush a bit, so he decided to blame the scenery.

Takigawa rose to his feet after putting a close to their group's inquiries about his packed lunch. He pulled his bag up with him before they resumed their trek.

"Can you at least write the recipe down?" Hayashino implored.

Takigawa sighed. "I will. Can we please stop talking about it now?"

"Yosh!" Hayashino cheered.

Kimeru was glad that it took longer for him to tire out for the second part of their trek. It wasn't long when the entire group stopped talking, using their energy to concentrate on the walking and getting to their destination.

----------

The sun was already setting when they reached the campsite. Kimeru looked around; he had to admit it was worth the trek.

As soon as they got there, both the students and the teachers were setting up the tents where they would sleep in for the night.

Kimeru and Abe had finished setting up their own and were helping those who were having difficulties with theirs... like Toru and Nakagauchi who were arguing as they set up their own tent. Abe went over to his friends to assist them while Kimeru tried to calm Toru and Nakagauchi down.

After the tents have been set up, the teachers and the students had a bit of interaction and a brief biology lecture while having dinner.

While all this was happening, Kimeru felt uneasy. He really didn't like the idea of going outdoors in the first place but he knew he had to do it. Another thing that was bothering him was the fact that every time that he tried to interact with Takgiawa something just had to happen to prevent him from doing so - whether it be Abe wanting to talk to him or one of his friends fooling around. He sighed heavily as they resigned to their tents for the night.

"Ano...Kimeru-kun?" Abe started as he set up his sleeping bag.

"What is it Abe-kun?" Kimeru asked tiredly.

"I really had fun today and I'm glad that you accepted to be my partner even though we both know that you wanted to be partners with someone else," Abe started.

"Abe-kun you know that--"

Abe shook his head, cutting whatever Kimeru was going to say. "All I'm saying Kimeru-kun is that there are times when you're actually allowed to be selfish. And by that I mean allowing yourself to do what you want. You already made me happy by being my partner and staying with me for this trip…even talking to me...so...go and be selfish for once this day." Abe scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Er...that's all. Good night Kimeru-kun!" he said quickly before going into his sleeping bag and turning away from Kimeru who just sat there in shock.

"A-Abe-kun..." Kimeru said slowly, a smile forming on his lips. "Thanks...I owe you for this," he said before he grabbed his sleeping bag and went out of the tent.

Abe peeked from under the sleeping bag and chuckled he got out and zipped the entrance of the tent close. "I know that you'll look after him...Takigawa-kun," he said before laying back down to go to sleep.

----------

Takigawa was in his sleeping bag, unable to sleep. With his hands underneath his head, he allowed himself to stare at the stars through the transparent 'roof' of his tent. Dinner brought about more excitement over his packed food - a personal dish that mixed macaroni and cheese with the Chicken Pasta Casserole he had made before - as his classmates bombarded him with questions about it.

Takigawa shrugged. Perhaps he was brooding over the fact that he was without a partner for that trip, which would've explained why he struggled through answering the inquiries with a forced smile. He sighed. "Why did we have to be an odd-numbered batch...?" he cursed quietly to himself.

----------

Kimeru quickly located Takigawa's tent; after all, he was watching him set it up a few hours ago. "Psst! Takigawa!" he said as he stopped by the zipped up opening of the tent. "Takigawa!" he hissed again.

Takigawa sat up. He recognized the voice and crawled over to the 'door' and zipped it open. "What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be with Abe-kun?" he inquired tiredly.

Kimeru grinned at him. "Believe it or not, he was the one who told me to go here," he said. "Now move over."

"Wait... what?" Takigawa asked, not sure if he had heard correctly.

"I said it was Abe who told me to come here! Are you deaf or something? Now move over," Kimeru said as he gently pushed Takigawa back inside, entered and zipped the opening close behind him, making sure that it was locked before he set up his sleeping bag beside Takigawa's own.

Takigawa fell back onto his sleeping bag before turning to Kimeru. "What's with this sudden want to stay with me?" he inquired, even though he already knew the answer.

"Because in case you haven't noticed...I've wanted to be with you the whole day," Kimeru said as he finished setting up his sleeping bag. "There...now I'm done," he said before adjusting it a bit so that it was side by side with Takigawa's sleeping bag. "Finally I can get some sleep…" he said in satisfaction as he removed his shoes and went to lie down beside Takigawa, placing his arms around him. "Oyasumi~" he said before closing his eyes.

Takigawa lied back down just as Kimeru had put his arms around him. He silently thanked Abe as a small blush came to his cheeks as he looked over to Kimeru before nodding. "Aa... oyasumi," he said in reply before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Abe woke up with a huge smile.

He went out of the tent after arranging his things; he saw that a lot of people had already woken up.

"Oi Abe! Is Kimeru still asleep?" Daisuke asked.

Abe nodded as he zipped up the tent. "He's still asleep, I wouldn't want to disturb him," he stated simply.

Furukawa and Ueshima looked at one another; they had seen that there was no one in the tent before Abe zipped it closed. "Takigawa?" Ueshima asked and Furukawa just nodded.

"Oi, Takigawa's usually already awake, isn't he?" Hiyashino pointed out, looking around. "Is he still sleeping?"

"He's probably tired," Tuti offered. "Let's not disturb him," he suggested.

Furukawa went over to his friends. "Kime isn't in Abe's tent," he stated simply and they all stopped what they were doing to stare at him.

"What?! Then where is he?!" Nagayan asked.

Furukawa smiled. "He's in Takigawa's tent. I'm sure of that."

"Then why did Abe.....oh....now I get it...Abe likes Kimeru but he knows that Takigawa and Kimeru..." Daisuke said and Sota hit him on the head.

"Complete your sentences, idiot!" he said.

"That hurt!" Daisuke complained. Furukawa chuckled.

"Hey Furukawa...do you think that they're..." Nagayan asked.

"Saa....I guess so," Furukawa answered.

----------

Takigawa finally woke up and found himself disoriented for a minute when he heard soft breathing beside him. He turned and nearly jumped back in surprise at the sight of Kimeru before his mind registered that the boy had come in late that night and wanted to stay with him. He smiled and moved to get up before he found himself trapped in Kimeru's arms. "Kimeru...let...go..." he muttered, tugging to pry the other boy's hands away from each other. "We need to get up!" he hissed.

Kimeru loosened his hold and turned around. "Early...." he muttered sleepily as he opened his eyes before sitting up. "I'm still...sleepy..." he managed to say as he looked at Takigawa. "Bed hair..." he said as he patted Takigawa on the head. He yawned as he looked around, finding his bag that he had dragged along last and changed his shirt. He looked at Takigawa. "I'll be going ahead...after all, everyone thinks I shared a tent with Abe..." he said before going out.

Takigawa watched Kimeru head off before he went on to get dressed for today.

----------

"And may I ask what you're doing in there?" Kimeru froze as he heard the voice who spoke up.

"Ueshima-sensei…" he said as he turned around. "I-I can explain…" he said.

Ueshima grinned before lounging an arm around Kimeru. "It's fine, it's fine," he said in the boy's ear. "It's already pretty obvious, anyway. At least for those who're keen enough to spot the clues," he added slyly.

Kimeru turned red when he heard this. "I...er...I…I'm going to get some breakfast," he said hurriedly as he went to join his friends.

----------

Meanwhile back at school, Aiba sighed heavily as he entered the classroom. The power in the dormitories was gone and according to the one in charge, the power wouldn't be coming back until Saturday. Now he was faced with a problem: How would he finish his paper that he had to pass by Saturday evening via email to the Editor in chief? He only thought of one way...and that way involved a certain someone named Shirota Yuu.

The boy in question had just arrived, sliding the door open as he stretched his arms over his head. "Ohayou~!" Shirota greeted cheerfully as he headed to his desk.

"Ah. Shirota-kun..." Aiba said as he lifted a hand to wave at the boy.

-----------

Takigawa, after changing, fixed up his bag before he stepped out of his tent. He observed that everybody was settling down to breakfast.

Kimeru was with Furukawa and the rest of their classmates when he saw Takigawa. "Oi! Takigawa! Over here!" Kimeru called out.

"Eh? What happened to _'Eiji'_?" Furukawa teased.

"Shut up, Furukawa," Kimeru hissed, causing Furukawa to laugh out loud.

Takigawa headed towards Kimeru, slipping his hands into his pockets as he reached them. "Ohayou," he greeted, nodding to the others.

Kimeru smiled as Takigawa joined them and the group resumed their discussion about various things.

----------

"Ohayou~"

"Juus~"

Yanagi and Endo chimed in, stepping into the room at the same time.

Shirota set his things down, giving a wave over to Aiba. "Early bird again, Aiba-kun?" Shirota teased.

"Shirota-kun!" Endo called, waving him off. "I need to ask you something."

"Endo-kun forgot all about his Math homework. _Again_," Yanagi stated.

Shirota walked up to the two as Endo slapped Yanagi on the arm. "Maa, maa. Let's not start a fight here," he requested.

Aiba sighed as he heard the conversation. _'I'll ask him later...'_ he thought.

Shirota sat down and began telling Endo how to do a problem he didn't understand as the rest of their classmates started to arrive. Shirota left Yanagi to look after Endo before he returned to his seat.

----------

After breakfast the teacher announced that they will be leaving in a while.

Kimeru went over to Takigawa's tent to retrieve his bag. While he did so, Abe approached Takigawa. "Takigawa-kun..." he started.

Takigawa, having already brought his things out and waited for Kimeru so he could put the tent away, turned to Abe. "Something wrong, Abe-kun?" he inquired.

Abe smiled. "No nothing's wrong. I just came here to tell you that I told the teachers that you'll be partners with Kimeru-kun on the way back," he said before turning around. "That's all. See you!" he said before heading off to meet up with Nagayan and Tuti who were waiting for him.

Takigawa stared at Abe before shaking his head, smiling to himself.

"What are you smiling about?" Kimeru asked as he went out of the tent.

----------

Aiba watched Shirota as he went back to his seat. "Ne, Shirota-kun...I have a favor to ask," he said.

Shirota leaned an elbow on the desk and turned to Aiba. "What kind of favor?" he asked.

"Ano....we sort of lost electricity at the dorms and they told us that the electricity won't be coming back until Saturday evening and I need to get a paper passed by then… but I don't think I could rush the paper so..." Aiba stated before pausing. "Could I stay over at your place to finish it?" he asked.

Shirota blinked a few times before a genuine smile crept up his mouth. "Sure, I don't mind. Just tell me when and I'll have things set up in my room," he said enthusiastically.

"Would tomorrow night be alright?" Aiba asked hopefully.

----------

Takigawa moved to start dismantling the tent. "Seems Abe-kun's told the teachers that we'll be partners heading back," he explained quite happily.

Kimeru blinked. "He did what?!" he exclaimed.

"You don't want to?" Takigawa asked with a frown, already packing everything in the bag of the tent.

"N-No! It's not that!" Kimeru answered quickly. "It's just that... it's surprising, that's all..." he said.

----------

Shirota thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I-yo. I would have to warn you about my older brother, though..." he said warily. "He might jump at you... not literally, of course."

"Why would he jump at me?" Aiba asked in confusion.

Shirota gave out a nervous chuckle, scratching his cheek. "You'll find out..."

Aiba shrugged. "Okay.....well. Thanks a lot Shirota-kun. I promise not to be in the way while I'm there."

----------

Takigawa got to his feet and nodded. "Alright, then. Let's get going, shall we?" he offered.

"Aa. At least it's easier going down this mountain than going up," Kimeru said with a smile. He looked at the other people who had already lined up. "Let's go!" he said as he took Takigawa's hand and led him to the group.

Furukawa saw this and grinned. "Kimeru you dolt..." he said. "...I guess this just proves that even a person like Kimeru would end up eating his words."

Takigawa pulled his things along with him.

----------

Shirota shook his head. "You won't, I promise. But since it's a Friday..." he said, suddenly thinking out loud. "Maria-neesan will still be around... And so will Jun-ani... I doubt Dai-ani will be coming to the house..." he muttered to himself.

Aiba raised an eyebrow. "How many siblings do you have, exactly?" he asked curiously.

Shirota, stirred out of his thoughts, turned to Aiba. "Four... Two older brothers, one older sister and a younger sister," he replied.

----------

As soon as they got into the line Ueshima had announced that they were going to start the trek. The big group headed down the mountain making small idle chats with one another. Takigawa and Kimeru took up the rear as they slowly made their way back downhill.

"So was this your first outdoor exposure?" Takigawa asked. "I recall you didn't attend the one last year."

"Aa...and for a good reason. I tire easily," Kimeru said with a frown.

"You should start exercising more, then," Takigawa offered.

Kimeru chuckled. "Maybe I should…" he said with a smile.

----------

Aiba thought about this for a moment. "Must be nice...having a big family," he said.

Shirota rubbed his nose. "If you think so..." he replied distractedly before their classes began.

Aiba said nothing as he saw a substitute teacher enter for their homeroom class, since Ueshima-sensei wasn't around.

----------

It wasn't long till they reached midpoint again. Kimeru leaned on a rock, panting. "Seriously!! This is why I don't like outbound activities!" he exclaimed.

Takigawa chuckled, offering his water jug. "Here, you seem to need this more than I do," he stated.

"Ah...thanks..." Kimeru said as he gratefully took the jug and drank some water.

----------

Homeroom went by pretty quickly before their first class began. Shirota began taking some notes, scribbling them down diligently into one of his notebooks.

----------

Soon they continued their trek down, and Kimeru couldn't believe that most of his batch mates still managed to chat while they were walking.

Takigawa watched Kimeru. "Do you need another energy boost?" he teased. "I have another snack in my bag, if you want."

"I....I'm fine....just a....a...little more to go, anyway," he managed to say. "I can do it..."

"I'll have to get you to start exercising before our next field trip," Takigawa suggested, chuckling.

"W...Whatever Takigawa…" Kimeru managed to say.

----------

Aiba thought about what he could do after class. He knew he had to rush everything and finish what he could before nightfall came. He sighed. _'At least I won't have much of a problem tomorrow,'_ he thought.

----------

After half an hour they were back on the bus and on the way back to school. Kimeru sat on the aisle seat while Takigawa was on the window seat.

"I…am...never...doing...this…again!!" Kimeru said.

"I highly doubt that, right Dai...suke?" Furukawa said as he looked at his partner who was out like a light already.

Takigawa leaned on the window and fell asleep not long after the bus had started.

----------

Aiba sighed. It was already lunch break and he was at the library. His phone was ringing again; he looked at it and decided to answer it. He went out of the library and ran to the bathroom before pressing the answer button.

_"Hiroki!!"_ A voice came from the other line.

"...Nee-san..." he answered quietly, smiling a bit at the sound of his sister's voice.

_"Where have you been? Why haven't you been answering our messages?" _Hinako asked.

"I...I'm sorry nee-san..." he said simply. "I can't tell you where I'm staying right now, okay? Please understand...and don't tell kaa-san that you managed to talk to me," he said.

_"Hiro...please come back home,"_ his sister pleaded.

"I'm sorry nee-san....I can't," he answered. "..I have to go...I still have class." He didn't wait for an answer as he ended the call, wiping the tears that ran down his face. He went to the sink to wash his face to help him calm down.

Shirota was at the courtyards, managing to find some time alone. He took out his soccer ball and began dribbling it. _'So Aiba-kun is coming over to the house tomorrow... I'll have to ask Maria-neesan to cook up something special…'_ he thought happily to himself before his cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket. Startled, Shirota quickly flicked the ball up and caught it before fishing his phone out and checking the display. "A-re?" He smirked and moved to a bench as he flipped his phone up and brought it to his ear.

_"Yuu, did I catch you during your lunch break?"_ the voice began.

Shirota chuckled. "Hai, Dai-ani. Anything special you wanted to say? You rarely call, after all..."

_"Aa. I called to tell you that I'll be staying over at the house this weekend since kaa-san's coming home, too. I'll be there by tomorrow afternoon,"_ Dai explained.

Shirota groaned. Now all his older siblings would be home tomorrow. "Glad to hear it. I'll see you tomorrow, then," he stated.

_"Ja."_

The call ended as Shirota closed his phone, heaving a huge sigh, rubbing the back of his head. _'I'm in a big pinch...'_ he told himself.

----------

Kimeru looked over at his partner and noticed that he was asleep. He sighed. _'Oh well...at least he's my partner now...'_ he thought as he leaned back on the chair. He heard the soft snoring of Daisuke at the back and soon enough he fell asleep as well, his head falling on Takigawa's shoulder.

----------

Nagayan, who was in the seat just in front of the two grinned as he propped himself up on his seat and took a picture.

"I want a copy of that!" Furukawa said from the back.

"Hai hai~" Nagayan said with a smile.

----------

Aiba went back to the room, eyes still a bit red from being overwhelmed by his emotions. _'Calm down Hiroki....this was your choice after all...calm down...'_ he told himself as he buried his face in his arms as he leaned on the table.

Shirota returned to the classroom with his ball. "You alright, Aiba-kun?" he inquired.

"I...I'm fine..." Aiba managed to say, not daring to look up. "No...I take it back, I'm not fine," he said as he felt the tears threatening to fall again.

Shirota frowned and leaned against his desk, watching him. "Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked quietly.

Aiba bit his lip, thinking about it for a while. "My...my sister called a while ago..." he started. "They don't know that I'm staying at the dorms...heck they don't even know if I'm in the city…all they know is that I'm going to school here at Mitsukaru..." he explained as he sat up to wipe his tears away with his sleeve. "I never answered their calls or their mails... until now..." he said, looking blankly at his desk. "...I just...never realized that I miss them, I guess…"

Shirota listened to Aiba before he shrugged. "I'd be intruding on your privacy if I asked you why you're living in the dorms... Even if you have a family who're worried about you..." he stated sadly.

Aiba shook his head. "I have a reason why I'm staying at the dorms and I don't regret leaving the house...After all...I just can't take it anymore because of-- I'm sorry Shirota-kun, I must be boring you with all of this...please forget that I said anything..." he said as he closed his eyes to calm himself down.

Shirota shook his head as he straightened up. "I wasn't bored..." he said quietly as he moved to the door. "I _do_ hope to hear that story soon..." he said, lingering for a moment before leaving the room to go to the bathroom.

Aiba sighed, slightly wondering what possessed him to tell Shirota what he just did. _'This is the very thing I didn't want to happen....'_ he thought sadly. _'I can't....not now...and most importantly...not him...'_

----------

It was already 5 in the afternoon when the buses have returned to the school.

"Wake up, people!! We're here!" Ueshima announced happily.

Takigawa had stirred from Ueshima's loud voice as he made to get up before he felt a weight on his shoulder, seeing Kimeru asleep. He gently shook him awake. "Oi. Kimeru... We're back at the school... Wake up," he called.

----------

Shirota had just come from soccer practice when he saw the buses. Grinning, he headed up to meet up with Takigawa.

----------

Kimeru grunted. "No...." he mumbled.

Furukawa chuckled. "Good luck with him, Takigawa. It would take more than the end of the world to get his mind working properly."

Takigawa turned to Furukawa. "Is that right?" He returned his attention to Kimeru. "Kimeru, I'm cooking Okonomiyaki tonight. Do you want to come over and have some?" he inquired.

Kimeru opened his eyes sleepily. "I heard Okonomiyaki..." he said slowly as he looked at Takigawa.

Furukawa chuckled as he got up, "You're really one of a kind, Takigawa." he said as he headed to the doors.

Kimeru yawned as he took his bag. "Let's go...I wanna eat..."

Takigawa laughed. "So my bait worked, and that means I really _do_ have to make Okonomiyaki tonight..." he thought as he and Kimeru disembarked the bus.

"Eiji-senpai!" Shirota greeted.

"You're still here?" Takigawa inquired.

Shirota nodded. "Aa. Practice just ended. So I'm staying over with you tonight."

Takigawa took a moment to check his watch. "It's Thursday, isn't it? Sure, no problem," he replied with a grin as he turned to Kimeru. "Though it seems I'll have to feed this guy some dinner..."

Kimeru almost fell from the steps of the bus; luckily Ueshima caught him in time.

"Careful there, Kimeru-kun..." Ueshima said with a chuckle.

"Hai...." Kimeru answered drowsily.

"Are you alright? You look a little tipsy," Takigawa stated as he spotted Kimeru and frowned. "Will you be able to walk on your own?"

"Swear to sleepy I am not Kami-sama..." Kimeru mumbled.

Ueshima laughed. "I think he meant: Swear to Kami-sama I am not sleepy," he said.

"That's what I said…" Kimeru said with a glare towards Ueshima, but it didn't exactly work.

Takigawa sighed as he shed off his bag. "Can you carry this for me, Shirotan?" he asked, handing it out to the younger boy.

"Okay..." Shirota replied, taking the bag and slinging it over his other shoulder.

"In the state he's in right now, he won't be able to support himself..." Ueshima noted.

"Looks like I'll have to bring him home tonight..." Takigawa stated with a shrug. "I'll take it from here, sensei."

Ueshima nodded. "Make sure he gets some rest, Takigawa-kun. And I'll see you tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he said before taking his things and headed into the school.

Kimeru looked at Takigawa for a while. "....I can go home by myself..." he said with a pout. "Just need to get to get my orientation back..." he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"Going up five floors? I don't think so..." Takigawa said in disapproval. "Come on, let's get some food into you..." he said, nodding to Shirota. "Ikuze, Shirotan."

Shirota followed as they started off heading to Takigawa's place.

----------

As soon as they arrived at Takigawa's home, Kimeru went straight to the couch and slumped down. "I can't keep my eyes open..." he whined.

Shirota entered and set _all_ the bags down in the living room before he wiped the accumulated sweat on his forehead. "You guys don't have classes tomorrow, right?" he inquired.

Takigawa moved into the kitchen to wash his hands. "Aa." He peeked out into the living room to look over to Kimeru before gesturing Shirota to help him out in the kitchen.

"I'm just going to....close my eyes for a..." Kimeru didn't finish his sentence as he fell asleep on the couch.

----------

"You realize that with both of us here in the kitchen, Kimeru-senpai can fall asleep again?" Shirota whined as he began making the batter for the Okonomiyaki.

Takigawa nodded. "Yes, I do. He just might be lacking sleep, so let him fall asleep all he wants for the time being," he explained. "We can wake him up when dinner's ready."

----------

Aiba looked out of the window and sighed heavily. He looked at his phone that was now turned off. He didn't want to entertain any more calls from his family when one was enough to push him to tears. More importantly…he had things to think about.

_'Why did I openly tell Shirota-kun that my family didn't know that I stayed in the dorms?'_ he asked himself. _'This is what I was avoiding...I should have stopped earlier...'_ he looked at the picture in his hands. It was one of the first pictures he took of Shirota.

"I want to tell you..." he said sadly. "I want to tell you everything...but I just can't... Not now.... and not ever."

----------

It wasn't long before Takigawa and Shirota's combined efforts produced a number of pancakes that Shirota had transferred to the dining table as Takigawa moved to wake Kimeru from his slumber.

"Kimeru... Okonomiyaki's ready..." Takigawa stated, shaking the boy.

Kimeru, upon hearing this, woke up immediately. "Where?" he asked sleepily as he stood.

Shirota was halfway into a chair as Takigawa led Kimeru to the dining table, easing him into a seat. "Hai, dozo," he offered before taking his own seat. "Shirotan, you should relax," he added.

Shirota sat down on the chair. "Aa..."

"...Oh...Shirota-kun is here too...hi…" Kimeru said as he tried to blink himself awake. "Itadakimasu..." he said before he started eating.

The three partook of the Okonomiyaki for dinner. Afterwards, they decided to head to bed early.

Shirota had brought the bags upstairs as Takigawa helped Kimeru up the stairs, the latter of whom was still drowsy despite having eaten.

"Gomen, Shirotan. Looks like you'll have to use my parents' room tonight..." Takigawa apologized as soon as he reached the top of the stairs.

Shirota looked over to Kimeru, who Takigawa had put on his back. "I don't mind..." he replied carefully. "But I'm surprised he got even drowsier _after_ he ate..."

Takigawa looked over his shoulder to see Kimeru's sleeping form and chuckled. "He probably just needs a good night's rest. He'll sleep in the room with me tonight. I'll be up early so--"

Shirota shook his head. "No, it's alright. I don't want to impose on you making breakfast. You can sleep in, Eiji-kun," he reassured him. "Take care of Kimeru-senpai," he added.

Takigawa blushed for a moment before nodding. "Aa... Oyasumi..." He headed to his room and set Kimeru down on his bed, deciding to let him sleep there for the night before he got ready for bed himself, settling into the futon on the floor after pulling the blankets over Kimeru and settling to sleep as well.

Unfortunately for Takigawa, he had failed to notice one thing. Kimeru's bed in the dorms always had the left side against the wall...and it was for a good reason. Kimeru had this habit of always moving to the left of whatever he was sleeping on. That was why he always made a conscious effort of sleeping on a place where his left side would be blocked. But in this case...he didn't. That's why in the middle of the night, he fell off the bed, onto the futon where Takigawa was sleeping on. He subconsciously moved towards the warmth and placed an arm around him.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	6. A Night at Shirota's Place

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist: **snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 6th chapter entitled **A Night at Shirota's Place**. This chapter details Aiba staying over at Shirota's house, where we are introduced to Shirota's family. The few hours spent in the abode of the Student Council Secretary reveal a few things that both Shirota and Aiba realize about the feelings they hold for one another.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

Early the next day, Shirota had woken up early and quietly got ready for school. He showered and fixed the bed before heading downstairs with his bag and prepared breakfast for himself. It wasn't long before he left Takigawa's house for the school.

----------

Aiba sighed; this time around there was no Kimeru-senpai to wait for. Actually, he was a bit worried about where the older one had gone to. He knew that the field trip was only an overnight affair, but Kimeru didn't go back to the dorms. He frowned as he entered the classroom, as usual seeing no one inside, and headed to his seat.

"No matter how early I wake up you always beat me to be the first one here, huh?" Shirota teased as he stepped lazily into the room a few seconds later. A soft chuckle escaped him before he moved to set his things down by his desk. "Kimeru-senpai slept over in Takigawa-senpai's house last night," he stated as he looked over to Aiba. "I just thought you should know."

"So that's where he went..." Aiba muttered as he turned his attention to his bag. "...And here I thought he fell off a cliff or something."

"Don't think things like that..." Shirota muttered darkly as he moved to the window, pocketing his hands. "Takigawa-senpai was with him, after all..."

"...I thought he was partnered with Abe-senpai...so how did he end up with Takigawa-senpai?" he asked.

----------

Takigawa woke up that morning feeling the same way he did the morning before. He paused at the very same thing - hearing a soft breathing beside him. Shuddering, he turned to see Kimeru asleep beside him. "Gahhh!!" he screamed out in surprise, feeling his heat beating faster than usual as he sat up and inched away momentarily, bringing a hand to his chest and tried to calm down. _'It's Kimeru-kun... It's Kimeru-kun... It's Kimeru...'_ he told himself firmly.

Kimeru was jolted awake when he heard someone yell. He was sat up and saw Takigawa. "What happened?!" he asked in a panic before looking around. His hand, as it was feeling around, felt the bed behind him. He looked around and examined it for a minute. His eyes widened in realization. "Oh...." he said. "Gomen, Takigawa-kun...it's a bad habit of mine to always go left..." he explained embarrassedly.

----------

Shirota shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have the exact details..." he admitted. "We didn't really get to talk about the trip much since we had to go to bed early..." he looked over to Aiba. "Maybe Ueshima-sensei knows something."

Aiba shrugged. "Maybe...Ueshima-sensei was with them after all," he said.

"Indeed I was!" Ueshima said from the door.

"Ueshima-sensei?! What are you doing here at 7:45?" Aiba asked.

Ueshima smiled. "I just wanted to see who comes to class early. I heard that you two were consistent; especially you, Aiba-kun."

Aiba looked away. "I just wake up early, that's all..." he said.

Ueshime chuckled. "I see... so anyway… To answer your inquiry about Abe-kun, Takigawa-kun and Kimeru-kun: Yes, Kimeru-kun was partnered up with Abe-kun but the next morning of the trip, Abe-kun had approached us to request that Kimeru-kun be partnered to Takigawa-kun instead and we agreed."

"But why would he do that?" Aiba asked.

"You'll understand someday, Aiba-kun," Ueshima said with a smile.

"I'm thinking something happened in the middle of the night..." Shirota supplied, turning to Ueshima.

Ueshima simply grinned. _'Smart boy...'_ he thought to himself. "Saa, I'll be starting homeroom when the bell rings! Let's see who else comes to school early...." he said, skipping off to the teacher's table.

It was only a few minutes later when the rest of the class came in.

----------

The day went by smoothly, and by lunch time, Aiba remembered that he was supposed to ask something.

"Ne, Shirota-kun…can you give me your address? I'll be coming from the dorms later to get my things," Aiba said.

Shirota nodded as he took out a piece of paper and wrote the address down before holding the paper out to Aiba. "Hai."

Aiba looked at it for a while and nodded. "Thanks," he said. "Oh yeah...since Kimeru-senpai is at Takigawa's place..." he said as he pulled out his phone.

----------

Kimeru heard his phone go off and searched for it. He took it out of his bag and saw that it was a message from Aiba. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT THERE'S NO ELECTRICITY AT THE DORMS UNTIL TOMORROW AFTERNOON?!" he exclaimed; he had obviously regained his energy over the night. "And he won't be sleeping there?!" He cursed under his breath for a few moments before managing to calm down. He took a deep breath before turning around to face Takigawa. "Sorry about that...and...I was just wondering if...." he started.

Takigawa managed to compose himself before he got to his feet, checked the time and was already heading out of the room when he replied, "Feel free to stay here another night. I'll go and make us some lunch!"

"Hai~ Arigatou!" Kimeru called out after him. He stood up and stretched. "Hmm...I better fix this..." he said as he looked around before proceeding to fix the sheets. He chuckled as he retrieved one of the pillows that fell from the bed. "That's the second time I woke up beside him..." he mused.

----------

"I'll set things up later when I get home..." Shirota stated.

----------

After classes, Aiba went straight to the dorms. He noticed that a few things were fixed and concluded that Kimeru came earlier to get some things. _'He's most probably going to sleep over at Takigawa-senpai's place again...'_ he thought as he changed into casual wear. "Those two are _so_ married..." he muttered as he took the bag he packed the day before and headed to Shirota's place.

----------

Once Aiba located the house, thanks to the address that Shirota gave him, he rang the doorbell...only to realize that he didn't ask him one vital question... Aiba didn't know Shirota's first name. He hadn't been really listening during the first day of classes and he always called him "Shirota-kun".

----------

When Shirota had gone home, he was half-surprised to see that Maria was already starting on dinner in the kitchen while Dai and Jun were in the living room watching TV. Shirota moved to prepare everything in his room and was on the way down before the doorbell rang. "I'll get--"

"NO YOU DON'T!!" Jun declared, pushing Shirota into a dining chair he pulled out from the table and loosely tied him down with a jump rope from the closet. Jun patted him on the head. "I want to be the first to meet your friend, Yuu-kun~!" he chimed before slipping towards the front door.

----------

Aiba mentally hit himself. "Stupid...you can't just look for Shirota-kun! They're all Shirota-kun in there!" he muttered. It was already too late to turn back when he saw the door open and a moment later someone -who Aiba assumed was Shirota's brother- looked outside.

Jun pulled the door open. "Hai?" he called, blinking to see a boy with the large head of what appeared to be a panda plushie sticking out of his bag.

"A-Ano....I'm looking for..." he started.

Shirota struggled from the hold of the rope and managed to get free as he stammered to the door. "Aiba-kun!" he cried, catching his breath as he leaned against the wall.

"You!" Aiba exclaimed suddenly as he saw Shirota behind Jun.

"Hai?" Shirota inquired, blinking a few times.

Aiba looked at Shirota's expression when something clicked in his mind. _'Shirota Yuu....his name is.....argh!!'_ he wanted to slap himself but decided against it because it would look pretty strange if he did it in front of Shirota's brother.

_'Which reminds me...'_ he faced Jun and smiled. "Ano...I'm Aiba Hiroki…Shi-- I mean Yuu-kun's classmate," he introduced.

Jun smirked and stepped back so that he could come inside. "Please to meet you. Name's Shirota Jun, Yuu's older brother. I'm attending Hiraku High just a year ahead of you two," he replied, nodding to him.

Dai and Maria stepped out from the living room and kitchen respectively to introduce themselves.

Maria bowed. "I'm Shirota Maria, Yuu's older sister."

Dai adjusted his glasses. "And I'm Shirota Dai, reluctantly the eldest of these guys."

Aiba stepped inside and bowed respectfully to the rest of Shirota's family after they introduced themselves.

Shirota pointed to the panda plushie. "Ah, you brought that along!" he cried out.

Jun sniggered as he closed the door behind Aiba. "So does this plushie have anything to do with that Mukona one attached to your bag, Yuu?"

Aiba blushed a bit when he heard this but managed to keep it under control.

Dai and Maria looked at one another as they chuckled before Dai returned to watching TV.

"Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes, Yuu-kun. Aiba-kun, please do make yourself at home," Maria stated before returning to the kitchen.

"Ahh! My show's back on! Turn to channel 24, Dai-ani!!" Jun exclaimed, running into the living room.

"Hai, Maria-neesan!" Shirota called before taking Aiba's bag in one hand and grabbing hold of Aiba's hand in the other. "Hurry, let's go upstairs before Jun-ani starts asking any more questions!" he hissed before running up the stairs two steps at a time before they reached the second landing. The headed down the hall and entered the last room on the right before Shirota breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled Aiba inside and closed the door behind them.

Aiba lost conrtol of himself and blushed when Shirota took his hand and led him upstairs. _'Notgoodnotgoodnotgood,'_ he thought as he looked at their hands. When they reached the room Aiba sighed. "Ano..Shirota-kun...you could release my hand now..." he said quietly.

"Hmm?" Shirota turned to Aiba and saw that he was indeed still holding his hand as he hastily loosened his grip. "Gomen..." he muttered as he moved to his desk out of distraction.

Aiba looked at his hand for a while before he placed his bag by the door. "Thanks for letting me stay over, Shirota-kun..." he said as he pulled out his laptop from his bag. "Can I start on my paper?" he asked. "My laptop sort of lost all its reserve battery."

Shirota cleared his desk and pulled the seat out, offering it to Aiba. "Go ahead... My computer's on, so you can use it to print when you're done..." he explained as he pulled his bag with him to his bed, turned on his bedside lamp and started doing his homework.

----------

It wasn't long before Maria called the two down for dinner did Shirota write down the last part of his essay before he got up, turned off the lamp and headed to the door. "Ikuyo, Aiba-kun," he called, opening to the door and heading back downstairs.

"Hai...let me just...save..." Aiba muttered as he saved the file. "Done! O-re? Shirota-kun? Oi! Matte!" he called out as he followed Shirota downstairs.

----------

Downstairs, the three older siblings had settled themselves around the dinner table, waiting for Yuu and Aiba. Shirota had waited for Aiba halfway down the stairs before leading them to the dining area and gestured to the seat beside him as they both sat down to complete the table.

"Itadakimasu!!" they all said before digging in.

Aiba, remembering his own family at meal times, kept quiet as they ate.

----------

Dinner came and went pretty quickly. When everybody was finished, Maria and Dai offered to do the dishes as Shirota and Aiba headed back up to Shirota's room; Jun watching them from the dining table before grinning to himself.

----------

Once they had reached Shirota's room, Shirota turned to Aiba. "You're done with it already?" he inquired.

"Aa," Aiba said with a smile. "Just need to print it now," he said as he connected the laptop to the printer. "There we go..." he said as he clicked a few commands before the printer started printing his paper. "It'll eat up a lot of your ink...I'll replace it though," he assured him.

Shirota nodded apprehensively, glancing at his printer for a moment.

----------

Maria slipped into the living room to watch her Spanish soap operas that ran from 8 to 10 that evening as Dai settled into the dining table with Jun.

"So Yuu took Aiba-kun to the carnival last week?" Dai inquired as Jun nodded in reply.

"Aa. I'm guessing that's where the panda plushie came from as well..." Jun said carefully, his gaze averting to the stairs. "There's more, as well..." Jun began telling Dai about some of his suspicions, as well as some of the things Shirota had done that directly concerned Aiba, like the yakiniku dinner.

----------

"I'll just go down and get some water... Be right back," Shirota announced, heading downstairs. As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he spotted his two brothers in the dining table talking about something as he shrugged and moved to get a water bottle from the fridge.

The two nodded in agreement with each other before they stood. Shirota emerged from the kitchen and was just about to head back upstairs before Dai opened the hall closet door as Jun grinned and playfully pushed Shirota inside. Dai quickly closed the door and locked it from the outside.

"OI! LET ME OUT!" Shirota shouted, banging on the door.

"We just wanted to have a little chat with Aiba-kun, Yuu! Be a good boy and wait for us here, okay?" Jun called as he and Dai proceeded upstairs to Yuu's room.

Shirota groaned, banging on the door a few more times before sighing, sliding down to the floor and looked at the water bottle in his hand before he proceeded to open it and took a swig of water.

----------

Jun knocked on the door. "S'cuse us!" he chimed as he entered Yuu's room with Dai just behind him.

Aiba was looking at the last page of his paper when he heard Jun enter. He looked around and saw that Dai was with him. _'For some reason...I'm scared...'_ he thought as he smiled at the two. "Jun-san, Dai-san...is there something you need?" he asked politely.

Dai settled on the swivel chair as Jun proceeded to pull out the giant of a panda plushie and settled himself on the futon Shirota had laid out as the younger of the two began playing with it.

"So where _did_ this come from?" Jun inquired, having the panda do random actions with its arms.

Aiba felt his cheeks heat up and prayed to the high heavens that he wasn't blushing. "A-no...that came from the carnival, Jun-san...Yuu-kun won it in one of the games and gave it to me…" he said.

Dai smiled as he adjusted his glasses. "Yuu's rather skilled at those carnival games..." he explained.

Jun nodded excitedly. "Aa," he agreed turning to Dai. "Ne, remember the last time _we_ went to the carnival, Dai-ani? Yuu beat us in _every single game_ we tried! He ended up giving most of the plushies he won to Rina, though..." he stated, having the panda act out a shrug.

----------

Shirota leaned against the wall with his legs propped up. He was playing with his spare basketball and tipping his finger over it to let it roll back and forth as he waited in silence and semi-darkness. The closet light shorted out the day before and he had not gone around to replacing it, so he was left to settle with the slits peeking out to the hallway of the staircase to provide him with some light.

----------

Aiba smiled as he remembered that Shirota had beaten him in every game as well...not that he was much of a competition though. "He also won a brown bear that's a bit smaller than that one. And the only thing I got for him was a small Mokona plushie," he said. This thought reminded him about the boy in question. "Er...Not to be rude and all but...where's Yuu-kun? He seems to be taking a long time to get some water..." he said.

Jun and Dai stopped and looked over to Aiba. Knowing full well that Yuu was still in the closet downstairs, Jun waved a hand in front of him. "He's probably been pulled into the living room by Maria-neesan. She's watching her usual Spanish soap operas, you see," Jun explained. "So, did anything else happen during the carnival we should know about?" he asked, starting to play with the panda plushie again.

Aiba thought for a moment before a grin made its way to his lips. "He did get drenched at one point," he said, remembering that moment.

Dai's glasses slipped down his nose. "Pardon?"

Jun had the panda prod Aiba. "Tell us, tell us, tell us what happened!" he pleaded.

"Well..." Aiba started. "It was during the time he got me the panda...some kids were playing with a water-balloon nearby and passed us. Yuu-kun managed to get out of the way by side stepping them, but he was directly beside the dunking booth and someone was playing... before we knew it he was drenched in water from the tank," he said as he tried to hold back his laughter.

----------

Shirota found a tennis ball in the ball box and started throwing it towards the door as it bounced back to him as he caught it and proceeded to do this in a repetitive process.

----------

Outside, Maria passed by during the commercial and heard the sound and unlocked the closet. "What's---Yuu?! What are you doing in there?"

Shirota caught the ball as the door opened. He took the half-finished water bottle and got up. "Sankyu, nee-san!" he called as he gently moved past her and headed upstairs, bolting towards his room. As soon as he burst inside, the sight of his two brothers - the younger playing with Aiba's panda plushie - and Aiba _laughing_. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" he demanded.

Dai turned to the door and composed himself, pushing his glasses back up. "Commercial break, huh?" he inquired. "We were just talking about the carnival, Yuu," he began.

Jun turned to Yuu and grinned, having the panda act out being drenched. "Nice blooper there, lil' brother," he teased.

Aiba smiled apologetically at him. "Sorry, Yuu-kun…" he said. "It just slipped out."

Shirota flushed in embarrassment before he took hold of the wrists of his brothers. "Out, out, out!" he whined, pulling them to leave the room. He plucked the plushie from Jun's hands. "If you wanted to talk to Aibacchin, you didn't have to lock me in the hall closet!" he stated heatedly before closing the door and moved to the futon, handing the plushie to Aiba. "I'm sorry for my brothers' behavior..." he muttered.

"It's okay...they're fun to be with, actually," Aiba said with a smile. He then paused and backtracked what Shirota just said. "What....did you just call me?" he asked.

Shirota blinked. "What did I--" He paused when he realized what he said and shook his head. "It was nothing..." he said, taking the panda and ended up having it act out waving a hand in front of its face to shrug it off.

Aiba looked at the panda before grinning again. "It sounds nice...I like it," he said. "I wouldn't mind if you want to call me that," he said.

Shirota lowered the plushie and blushed, scratching his cheek before moving to his bed to stuff his finished homework in his bag and clipped it closed. "Sorry for snapping in front of you like that..." he muttered as he chucked his bag to the corner before lying down on the bed on his side facing the wall. "I'm just not fond of dark places..."

Aiba frowned. "They locked you in a hall closet...it's expected that you snap at them," he said as he sat on the bed. "At least you got out," he said as he placed a hand on Shirota's arm. _'...Why am I reacting like this? It's normal that he's in a bad mood...but why am I caring?'_ he thought but decided to think about it.

"If you failed to check the time I've been in a closet for _at least_ a half hour..." Shirota stated in annoyance.

Aiba looked at the clock on Shirota's desk and realized that it _was_ around half an hour since Shirota left the room. He sighed as he took the plushie. "I'm sure they meant no harm..." he said as he made the plushie placed its head on Shirota's shoulder. "If I knew about it I would have gone downstairs to let you out," he said as he made the panda do some gestures of opening a door.

Shirota shifted his head to look over to the plushie. "Oi..." he moved to sit up before pointing to the panda. "Are you trying to represent yourself with that? That's just silly," he stated, putting on a straight face as he said so, even though he himself had done it just moments ago.

Aiba grinned as he made the panda point a paw at Shirota. "So are you saying that I can't be silly?" he said as he poked Shirota on the chest using the plushie. "Even if I'm serious most of the time doesn't seem that I," he paused to make the panda point at itself. "Have no sense of humor or have no idea how to be silly," he said. "And I don't like to see you so serious...you look much better when you're smiling," he blurted out. Realizing what he said he clamped his mouth shut with his hands, letting the plushie drop on the bed. _'That was stupid Hiroki!!'_ he thought.

Shirota's eyes widened, all fake seriousness swept off his face as he began to feel the same way he did when Aiba had grabbed him by the hand as Takigawa's words from before came to him.

_**"You don't understand it, right? Why that type of gesture made you feel strange?"**_

_**"Well, that's because you like him..."**_

He smirked, shaking his head before he burst out laughing.

Aiba frowned when Shirota started laughing, "Did I say something funny?" he thought out loud but then shrugged afterwards. "Oh well. At least you're not in a bad mood anymore," he said with a smile before moving to sit on the futon that was set up earlier for him. He held the panda close to him as he lied down. _'This feeling....it's.....no...it can't be...'_ he thought.

Shirota's laughter died down as he watched Aiba and smiled fondly to himself. _'You're right, Eiji-kun. And I acknowledge that wholeheartedly now... I fully understand why I'm feeling the way I do towards him...'_ he thought happily to himself. He got up and moved to the desk and grabbed the water bottle. "Do you want a drink?" Shirota inquired.

"Sure," Aiba said as he looked at Shirota after sitting up, the plushie still in his arms.

Shirota pouted and pointed to the panda. "You're going to have to let that go if you want to drink, you know," he stated bluntly.

"I-I know that!" Aiba said defensively as he let go of the plushie before taking the water bottle from Shirota's hand. He looked at it for a while before drinking from it. He placed it on the desk afterwards and grabbed the plushie again.

Shirota chuckled. "I forgot to ask why you bothered to bring it along when it would just inconvenience you with its size..." he stated as he capped the bottle, realizing that Aiba had just drank from the very same bottle he himself drank from earlier. A smile came across his features as he closed the lights and headed to his bed to turn on the bedside lamp before turning to Aiba.

"Oh...him?" He said as he looked at the panda. "I just feel more at ease when I'm with him," he said as he made the panda wave at Shirota. "Besides...it's kind of nice to hold something when I'm going to bed."

Shirota nodded in understanding. "I see..."

----------

Jun and Dai settled in Dai's room while Maria was finishing her soap opera downstairs.

"Looks like Yuu's found himself a little boyfriend," Jun concluded, chuckling.

"I wonder when he'll come to terms with that, though..." Dai said in thought.

----------

Aiba remembered something. "Shirota-kun... that homework you were finishing earlier... was that the one for Math?" he asked. "Can I borrow it for a while?"

"No, that was for Literature..." Shirota corrected, but moved to get his bag. "I did the Math homework earlier during the break," he explained, reaching out to grab his bag and pulled it up to his bed as he rummaged through it and pulled the requested homework out, handing it to Aiba. "Hai." He fixed his bag before he saw a slip of photo paper he swore wasn't there before as he took it out and saw the content. A furious blush appeared on his face as he hastily - but carefully - slipped it back into his bag. _'Where in the world did that come from?!'_ he thought to himself in alarm.

----------

"I wonder if Shirotan's found Aiba's picture in his bag yet..." Takigawa mused as he moved to close the lights of his room.

Kimeru chuckled. "I'm sure he did by now..." he said.

----------

"Ah, Sankyu." Aiba said as he browsed through the notebook. "I think we have the same answers..." he said as he handed to notebook back to Shirota. He yawned as he looked at the clock. "I think we better go to sleep...." he said.

Shirota chuckled, taking his notebook back and inserted it in his bag and set it on the floor. "It's the weekend tomorrow. No need to be hasty..." he reasoned before yawning himself. "On second thought, let's get to bed..." He moved to turn off the lamp before collapsing onto the pillow. "Oyasumi~"

The next day, Aiba woke up ahead of Shirota... he was a bit disoriented when he found himself in a room he did not recognize. _'Oh yeah...I slept over at Yuu's place...'_ he thought. _'Wait...since when did I start calling him that?!'_ he thought as he shook his head. He glanced at the other boy on the bed and smiled. _'Even when he's asleep....'_ he thought fondly as he moved a strand of hair from Shirota's face. "Kawaii..." he said quietly.

Shirota groaned, shifting slightly in his bed before the door opened.

"YUU-ANI!!!" a voice came as a little girl of about 2 years old ran into the room and pulled on Shirota's foot.

Shirota's eyes snapped open as he sat up, seeing Aiba awake and bid him a quick "Ohayou" before bending forward and taking the girl up onto the bed with him. "Rina, you shouldn't always do this when you come over... Especially since I have a guest..."

Rina hugged Shirota before turning to Aiba. "Who this?" she asked.

Shirota chuckled. "My classmate Aiba Hiroki," he introduced before looking over to Aiba. "This is my younger sister Rina."

"Nice to meet you Rina," Aiba said with a smile. He then looked at the watch. "I think I better get going, Shirota-kun…" he said as he stood up. "I shouldn't bother you and your family any longer."

Shirota grabbed Aiba's wrist. "Stay for breakfast, at least..." he muttered as Rina clapped her hands on Shirota's lap.

"Mama making choco pancakies," she stated happily.

Aiba considered this for a moment. _'Why must I be easily tempted by sweet things?!'_ he thought. "O...kay...but only for breakfast," Aiba said.

Shirota broke out into a grin as Rina cheered. "Let's head downstairs!" Shirota stated as he put Rina to sit on his shoulders as they headed out of the room as the pair cheered, "PANCAKES! PANCAKES! PANCAKES!!"

----------

"Ohayou~!" Shirota greeted as they reached downstairs as he set Rina down. "And welcome back, kaa-san," he added, smiling over to his mother who was setting the food at the table. "This is my classmate Aiba Hiroki," he introduced.

Shirota Pepi pushed her long, blonde hair from her face and bowed. "It's a pleasure to finally meet one of Yuu's classmates."

"LET'S EAT ALREADY!" Jun whined from the table, Dai and Maria chuckling silently to themselves.

Aiba smiled as he joined them for breakfast, but as he had stated before, he left afterwards. He said his goodbyes before heading back to the dorms. He frowned as he went his way, thinking back about the things he did while in that house...and more importantly: The things he realized.

----------

Kimeru had also gone back to the dorms that same day, and he found it strange that the younger boy had this aura that should not be challenged.

Aiba's mood carried on until Monday; the rest of the class made conscious efforts not to provoke him while in this state.

By Tuesday, everyone was on their toes. Aiba did calm down a bit but the aura that told everyone to stay away was there. Only two people were unfazed by this: Shirota and Ueshima-sensei.

Ueshima was already planning to talk to the boy during lunch break and when they had talked, he finally understood. Aiba had told him everything: the reasons why he was in the dorms and why he was acting so strange since the day before. When classes resumed, Ueshima assured him that no one else would know of their conversation. Aiba thanked him and left to go back to the classroom. As soon as he got there he sat down on his seat and remained quiet.

Shirota leaned towards Aiba, poking his arm with the blunt end of a pencil. "Oi, Aibacchin..." he called before he held out a bag of cookies to the boy as a grin spread on his face.

Aiba smiled sadly at him. "Thanks…" he said as he took some and ate them.

----------

After classes, Aiba was quick to leave before anyone could talk to him. But as he passed Shirota he slipped him a note.

_'Shirota-kun,_

_Sorry if I haven't been paying attention to you since yesterday, something just riled me up._

_--Aiba_

_P.S. Check out the page six of the school paper that was distributed today...you'll find something interesting.'_

Shirota read the note and watched Aiba leave, unable to say anything to the boy. Shrugging, he got to his feet and headed off to do some Council work, snatching a school paper off the stand along the corridor and opened it to the page Aiba had mentioned. He stopped in his tracks to look at the page properly. "This is..."

----------

Aiba smiled; the whole of page six was allotted for what he had done. It showed the entire coverage of what he had observed and watched when he was with the Soccer team. And as the header of the article he used Shirota's picture. He hummed to himself as he went through the school gates to head back to the dorms.

----------

Shirota's cheeks heated up as he folded the paper and hurried off to the Council room and proceeded to do his usual work before heading home with Takigawa since both had a break from their respective teams. As soon as they got to Takigawa's place, Shirota slumped down onto the couch to read the rest of the school paper while Takigawa went out to give Pearl a walk.

"Take care of things here while I'm gone, alright?" Takigawa stated before leaving.

----------

Kimeru was running down the street, he had forgotten about a test they were going to have tomorrow and he needed help. He turned at the upcoming corner and saw a house that he was very familiar with. He found that the door was unlocked so he just ran inside. "Takigawa! I need help with my---- A-re? You're not Takigawa..." he said as he stared at Shirota.

Shirota looked up from the paper. "Yes... and you're not him either..." he stated before folding up the paper in the awkward silence.

Kimeru chuckled. "Oh well...it's a good thing you're here, too," he said as he took something out from his bag. "Aiba asked me to buy this for you. It's an ink cartridge," he said as he handed a small box to Shirota. He then spotted the paper. "Ah...I see you found page six...he worked hard on that," he said with a grin. "You should be proud," he teased. "After all, it's not every day that Aiba writes about someone he considers special to him."

Shirota nodded his thanks as he took the box before he glanced to the paper and smiled. "I am..." he said quietly, clutching onto the box. "He was so serious the first time I met him... he even wanted to split the dinner bill with me when I took him out to dinner one time... But... I was glad I got him to laugh somehow during the carnival..."

Kimeru chuckled. "Ne... you do know that Aiba likes you too, right?" he asked quietly. "But something is still pulling him back..." he said as he sat on the couch beside Shirota. "But I think you can do the job to get him out of that spot." Kimeru grinned. "Now!" he said as he stood, so that Shirota couldn't respond immediately. "Let's see how Q is doing!" he then walked towards the cage and took out the rabbit.

Flustered for a moment, Shirota moved to stand before the front door opened, followed by a round of barking from Pearl. Takigawa came into view and raised his eyebrows. "This is a surprise..." he stated. "What are you doing here, Kimeru?" he inquired, bending down to undo the harness and leash from Pearl before she ran off.

Kimeru stood up with Q in his arms. "I need you to help me review for tomorrow's History test," he stated with a grin. He looked at Shirota and winked at him. "Don't worry, I won't take much time since I know that you want to talk to Takigawa about something," he added.

----------

As promised, Kimeru left right after Takigawa had reviewed him for his test, after a brief show of gratitude he left, waving at the two before closing the door behind him.

Shirota watched Kimeru leave as Takigawa eased himself into the couch with the younger boy. "So... _did_ you want to talk about something?" he began.

Shirota shrugged and scratched his cheek. "For starters... you were the one who slipped Aiba's picture in my bag, weren't you?!" he declared.

Takigawa laughed and nodded, bringing both hands up in surrender. "Yes, it was me. It was originally from Kimeru, actually. He hopes you appreciate it."

Shirota turned away with a pout.

"Shirotan..."

"About Aibacchin..."

"Eh?"

Shirota turned to Takigawa. "Aiba... would you happen to know anything... About him and I..?" he muttered.

Takigawa smiled and patted Shirota on the shoulder. "Do you really want to know?" Shirota nodded firmly before he continued. "It's already quite obvious that he likes you..." he started, taking the paper and spotting Shirota's picture. "With these types of gestures...taking pictures of you...and spending time with you... But he's conflicted by something, even though he's aware of his feelings for you," Takigawa stated sadly.

"Kimeru-senpai said the same thing..." Shirota agreed.

"You were the first one to have Aiba laugh like he did..." Takigawa continued. "So I'm sure the only person who can break the boundaries Aiba's set up around himself is you, Shirotan."

----------

Kimeru made his way back to the dorms. When he got there he spotted Aiba tinkering with what seemed to be a video camera. "What's that for?" he asked.

Aiba looked up from taking a sample video around the room. "The school paper wants me to take videos this time for the mid-year presentations of the varsities...so this thing will be with me for the whole week," he explained. "And you're not allowed to touch it," he added before looking back at the camera.

Kimeru grinned. "Why would I want to lug around that mammoth of a camera, anyway?" he teased before settling onto his bed.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	7. Of Fights and Family Issues

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 7th chapter entitled **Of Fights and Family Issues**. This chapter covers Kimeru and Takigawa getting themselves into a fight right outside Mitsukaru before they're sent to the principal's office. On the other end, Shirota takes it upon himself to try and understand Aiba, to the point of visiting the other's house to talk with his family and share his views on how a family should be. Shirota and Aiba confront each other before Aiba's barriers that he placed around himself are finally broken.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The week passed by quickly. With the preparations for the exams the following week, everybody became busy. Kimeru was mostly found in the classroom during those days, looking at some notes that Takigawa made for him along with the ones he made himself.

Friday came and everybody was almost at their limits. Kimeru cursed under his breath; he was running towards the school. He woke up late that morning due to studying up to midnight the night before. He was almost there when a group of boys stopped him.

"You're Kimeru, right? Mitsukaru Senior High's vocalist," one of them said.

"Ex-vocalist. I'm not with them anymore..." Kimeru said with a frown. "Now get out of my way, I'm late for class," he said moving to step forward.

"I'm afraid you can't do that," another said as he walked up, grabbing him by the arms.

"Hey! What gives? Let go!!" He said as he glared at the group.

"We want you to deliver a message to Nagayama Takashi...so you better hold still," the one in front of him said.

Kimeru's eyes widened in realization. _'These guys were the one who beat Nagayan up!'_ he thought.

----------

Shirota went to school ahead of Takigawa since Moriyama had asked him to run an errand that involved making a head-start on registering a few things for their upcoming activities.

----------

Takigawa left his house at the usual time. He was making his way towards the school when he noticed a group of students - most of them from a different school it seemed - near the entrance. "What the--"

"What's wrong, _Kime-kun_? Too afraid to fight back?" one of them sneered at Kimeru who was bleeding from a cut on his cheek. The one who punched him had a ring on, and it cut him when he was punched.

Kimeru glared at them. "There's no way I'm wasting my energy on a couple of useless guys like you..." he said

"Don't listen to him, Kubota. Knowing his reputation he'll snap after a few more hits," one of them said.

"Either that or he's going to find himself in the hospital," Okayama answered as he looked at Kimeru. "....or in a morgue," he added with a smirk.

Kimeru's glare intensified. "You little son of---" he was cut off as another blow was dealt followed by many others.

Takigawa approached them slowly before his eyes widened when he had recognized that someone was beaten up and more importantly, _who_ was being beaten up. He dropped his bag and ran towards them.

By this time around Kimeru had remembered the names of the ones dealing the punches; after all, this information would be useful.

They were from Shizuri High, a school not for from Mitsukaru. _'Kubota Yuki, Akiyama Shintarou, Seto Yusuke, Fukuyama Seiji, Murai Ryouta, Naitou Taiki, Kawada Jouji and Hosogai Kei,' _he said in his mind as he matched the name to the face.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Takigawa shouted. _'Of all the times..!'_

Kimeru inwardly groaned. "Takigawa...get out of here!!" he yelled.

Fukuyama looked at Takigawa and glared. "And who's this? I don't remember seeing you…"

Kubota frowned. "Get him. He's seen us already...we might as well let him join the fun...isn't that right, Kime-kun?" he said as he smirked at Kimeru.

"Leave him alone! He doesn't need to be--" he was silenced by a hand of one of the two that were holding him.

Kawada and Hosogai advanced on Takigawa while Murai and Seto kept their hold on Kimeru. A short beating followed before Takigawa was covered with a few bruises on his face, as well as in other parts. Takigawa was on all fours, coughing before Kubota took a fistful of Takigawa's hair and pulled him to face him.

"So are you some kind of knight thinking he'd save Kime-kun from getting in trouble?" he teased.

"And you've... got some nerve doing it right in front of our school..." Takigawa replied in return, earning him a punch to the face, sending him to the ground, his cheek starting to bleed.

Kubota cradled his hand, adjusting his ring. "You guys are getting my ring soaked in blood..."

Kimeru growled; he struggled against the hold of the two. "I told you not to touch him!!!" he yelled. He was about to kick Murai when he heard something that made him stop.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE KUBOTA!!" Nagayan yelled as he ran to them, behind him was the rest of Kimeru's friends and all of them were glaring at the group of boys from Shizuri.

"Darn it!! Kubota, we won't be able to handle all of them!!" Naitou said.

"Ku so...we'll be back!!" Kubota said before he stepped back and ran from the group.

"Wuss..." Furukawa hissed as he approached Takigawa and Kimeru along with the others. "Come on you two...let's fix you up before going to cla--"

"Takigawa. Kimeru. Report to my office," a voice came from behind them all.

They froze. It was the principal.

The principal smirked before turning on his heel and headed back into the school.

Takigawa painfully got to his feet, wiping the excess blood protruding from the cut on his cheek before he pushed past the group.

"Oi, Takigawa! You should visit--" Sota began.

"If we keep that man waiting it'll be harder to make him see reason..." Takigawa interjected, turning to Kimeru. "We have to go..."

Kimeru hissed in pain as he got up; he apparently bruised his knees when he was forced down. "Let's go," he said, dreading what was to come. He followed Takigawa inside to school, heading straight to the principal's office.

"Nagayama," Daisuke suddenly said.

"What is it?" Nagayan asked.

"Get Moriyama-senpai."

"Hai."

----------

Takigawa and Kimeru entered the office where the principal was found sitting leisurely at his desk. The two moved in front of the desk and waited for whatever lecture the principal had in store for them.

"First quarter exams are next week. Getting into a fight... I expected you to have more sense of the situation, Takigawa..." the principal began, shaking his head in disapproval. "Frankly, I had anticipated that something like this would happen, but I never imagined it to be of this magnitude." He took a momentary glance at their injuries. "But it would seem that I had placed my faith on the wrong person to try and have Kimeru reformed. It was an impossible task after all..."

Takigawa frowned. "But I was the one--"

"Once a delinquent always a delinquent," the principal interjected. "To be honest, you were a fool for having put _any_ faith in Kimeru's academic progress, Takigawa. And now you've even stooped down to his level, getting yourselves into a fist fight..." He turned to Kimeru. "As for you... You still ended up not learning anything these past few weeks, have you?"

Kimeru glared at the principal. "We didn't fight back!" he yelled as he slammed his fist on the desk. "The others could tell you that!"

"A likely story," the principal scoffed. "You would expect me to believe that _you_ would have the presence of mind to restrain yourself from throwing punches?"

Takigawa bit his tongue, his fist trembling beside him. _'This idiot...'_ "Kimeru would!" he stated pointedly. "He's not the same person from before..."

"And where would that be coming from, Takigawa? Even if I made you two partners for that program, I doubt this delinquent would be able to pull his grades up even _with_ your help," the principal fired back.

"ARGH! THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!" Kimeru yelled as he stood and pulled his fist back. "This will knock some sense into you!" he said before advancing to punch the principal.

Takigawa stood as well and before he could stop himself, he stood in the way and took the full force of Kimeru's punch, sending him crashing to the floor.

"T...T...TAKIGAWA!" Kimeru exclaimed as he realized what happened. "W...what did you do that for?!"

Takigawa groaned, pushing himself off the floor slowly and painfully. Clinging onto the desk, he pushing himself to his feet, on the brink of unconsciousness but he kept himself steady, running on willpower as he panted slowly. "I-te..." he muttered to himself, feeling his legs might give out.

_'This boy...'_ the principal thought in amazement as he watched Takigawa struggling to his feet. _'Why did he--'_

"You don't have to use violence..." Takigawa began. "You and I both know that what he's saying is wrong... We didn't fight back... You've been serious about your studies up until now... and I know that more than anybody else... You were impatient and angry when we started..." Takigawa took a moment to chuckle before wincing at the bruise that had formed on his cheek. "...But later on you started taking things more seriously... to the point of quitting the band to focus on your studies... Hitting him now would put all your efforts to waste!"

Filled with rage, the principal slammed his fist on the desk. "Now see here-!"

"It's a waste of time talking some sense into him now..." Takigawa interjected.

"Takigawa...to show that kind of disrespect in front of me," the principal started. "It would seem that Kimeru has influenced you more than I thought." He looked at Kimeru who had moved to help Takigawa back to the chair. "This is the first time that the school had someone like you: Hopeless, juvenile and dangerous. That reputation of yours could bring the downfall of this school, and I will not have that," he finished. "Kimeru...you are therefore suspen--"

"WAIT!!" Moriyama yelled as he burst through the door, holding up a CD. "I have proof that they have nothing to do with the fight this morning!" he said.

"And I have Kimeru's test records to prove that he _is_ improving academically!" Nagayan said, entering as well, but in a less dramatic way.

"My...test records?" Kimeru repeated as he looked at the little green notebook in Nagayan's hands.

Shirota followed inside. "And I can attest that Kimeru-senpai _has_ been taking this program seriously and has been studying with Takigawa-senpai," he added. "I even have a recording of one of their study sessions if you like."

Takigawa looked over to the others before a hint of a smirk came across his face. "Y...You guys..." he muttered before he fell unconscious on the chair.

"Takigawa-senpai!" Shirota cried in alarm.

"Shirota-kun, please bring Takigawa and Kimeru to the clinic," Moriyama commanded. "We'll take care of things here."

Shirota nodded, handing the tape recorder to Moriyama before bringing Takigawa under his weight and helped him out of the office.

Kimeru paused once the door to the principal's office was closed behind him. "That CD that Moriyama was holding...Shirota-kun...what was in that CD?" he asked.

Shirota adjusted his hold on the unconscious Takigawa before they started their walk to the infirmary. "A video... of that fight you two were in earlier... It came from an anonymous sender, though..." he explained.

Kimeru thought for a while as they went to the clinic. "An anonymous sender?" he repeated as he tried to think who could have possibly sent it. Suddenly, he remembered the pictures of Daisuke threatening Takigawa a few weeks back. Then it all fell into place. He had sat down on an empty bed beside where the nurse had helped Shirota place the unconscious Takigawa. He frowned when he realized who did this. "It was Aiba," he stated. "Aiba was the one who filmed it...he has the video camera of the school paper."

Shirota turned to Kimeru. "Are you sure?" he inquired as the nurse fussed with cleaning up a few of the cuts and bruises on Takigawa's face, bandaging them as best as she could before she proceeded to do Kimeru before leaving. Shirota turned to Takigawa and frowned. "After that bruise on his cheek from when Watanabe-senpai punched him had finally healed..." he sighed, patting Takigawa's leg gently.

"Yes, I'm pretty much sure. That kid doesn't know that he's risking his neck..." Kimeru said as he diverted his gaze to the ground. "That bruise on his cheek...it's partially my fault. I was going to punch the principal but he stood up and blocked the way."

Shirota blinked and pointed to Kimeru. "It was _entirely_ your fault," he corrected.

Kimeru glared at him. "I wasn't the one who hit first...." he said. "Ch', why am I arguing with you anyway?!" He paused for a moment. "Fine, you know what? Everything is all my fault. The principal was right, I'm nothing but trouble. After all, this would have never happened if I just walked away back then and never pushed through with this program," he started.

"But let me tell you something. I don't regret it. I don't regret being partnered up with him and I don't care what happens to me. If it weren't for Takigawa I would most probably still be out there fighting with those jerks. I wouldn't have cared about my grades and I wouldn't have quit the band. I would still be the same jerk that everybody knew since the first year!"

"...but that's not what happened because he came along. It was because of him that I changed...They could suspend me if they want but they can't do it to Takigawa because...because..." he took a deep breath before continuing. "...he's not like me...he's nothing like me." He then looked at Takigawa, a soft smile on his lips. "And that why...that's why I chose him..."

Shirota smiled as he heard this before he got to his feet. "You know something, Kimeru-senpai?" he asked, looking over to Takigawa. "Eiji-kun...Takigawa-senpai and I have been childhood friends for as long as I can remember... We looked after one another... So I have an idea what Takigawa-senpai is thinking most of the time... but sometimes I have to ask him to understand things better..." A small chuckle escaped him. "He's wanted to be with you... Ever since he decided to stake his position on the Council for you, knowing that you would eventually meet his expectations..." Shirota explained, turning to Kimeru. "After all, he's been waiting for an opportunity like that since Junior High..."

"Since...Junior High?" Kimeru asked as he looked at Takigawa. A sad smile formed on his lips as he stood to sit on the side of Takigawa's bed. "Baka....." he said quietly. "You big idiot......you should have approached me sooner..." He placed his hand on Takigawa's cheek, making sure that he didn't bother him because of the bruise. "....since Junior High I've been looking at you as well...I never approached you because I knew that we were too different..." he said.

"I'll leave you two alone, then..." Shirota stated, bowing before leaving the infirmary. _'Aibacchin... When can...'_ he thought as he headed back towards their classroom. _'When can you and I share that kind of understanding...?'_

----------

Kimeru nodded, silently thanking Shirota for leaving them for a while. "...Eiji...I'll make everything up to you…and when you wake up, I'll gladly tell you everything that I told Shirota-kun..." he said as he kissed Takigawa on the forehead before standing up to lie down for a while.

----------

Lunch Break. Aiba was smiling to himself as he ate his lunch. It was a coincidence that he was out that morning. He came from a printing shop nearby to pick up something for the school paper. That was when he saw Kimeru and Takigawa being beaten up. Without thinking he filmed it and when he saw the principal approaching he left immediately.

"Oi, Aibacchin!" Shirota called, approaching the boy and set down another bag of cookies. "Maria-nesan wanted me to give these to you..." he muttered as he set the bag down on the table and slid it towards Aiba.

Aiba blinked as he looked at the cookies. "Wow....these are a lot...Let's share them!" he said as he took one and offered the bag to Shirota.

The following week was the exams. It went smoothly for the four of them. Kimeru's friends had noticed the changes in their friend; he didn't have much of a temper and he was less rowdy. Nagayan thanked Takigawa for this, but he didn't really voice it out. Instead, he slipped a note in Takigawa's locker that was signed by all of them, even Daisuke.

During the Saturday after the exams, Aiba was with the soccer team once more. It was break time and he was chatting with Shirota amiably. Yagami Ren, his editor in chief, was there as well. He was checking on his field reporters and was also talking to Shirota.

Yagami then remembered something. "Aiba-kun, I saw you and Shirota-kun at the carnival a few weeks ago. You didn't tell me that you liked those things," he said with a chuckle.

Aiba fell silent; he looked down and grasped the notebook that he was holding a bit tighter. "We didn't go there, senpai. I haven't been in the carnival," he answered.

Yagami blinked. "Oh...then it must have been somebody else," he said as he checked on his watch. "I better go. I'll be checking on Nakagauchi-kun who's covering the Tennis club. I'll be seeing you two around." With that, he left.

Shirota got to his feet as soon as Yagami left. "I'll be getting back to practice..." he announced, nodding to Aiba before taking his place in the fields as they continued with their mock game. Shirota, whose mind pondered on Aiba's denial of their little escapade, failed to pay attention to the game at present.

"SHIROTA! THE BALL!!" Kenken shouted.

It was at that moment that Shirota was knocked on the side of the head by the speeding ball before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"OI!! SHIROTA!" Zukki exclaimed, running up to him.

Aiba's eyes widened as he saw Shirota fall. "Shirota!!" he called out as he dropped his notebook and rushed to his side.

Kenken blinked at the sudden appearance of Aiba. "How did you get here so fast?" he asked, but was ignored.

"Aiba-kun...could you please bring Shirota-kun to the clinic? Kamakari, go help him," Wada said as he looked at the scene.

"H-Hai..." Aiba said before taking Shirota to the clinic with Kenken's help. "I'll stay here, Kamakari-kun. You better head back to practice," Aiba said.

"Are you sure?" Kenken asked him as Aiba nodded. "O...kay then..." Kenken said before standing and leaving the clinic.

----------

Shirota came to a good 20 minutes later, feeling his head was being pierced through with nails as he groaned and opened his eyes. "W...Where am..." he slurred.

"Take it easy..." Aiba said. "You're in the clinic...the ball hit your head casing you to become unconscious," he explained.

Shirota shut his eyes. "Really...?" His mind tried to process why he had spaced out during practice before he remembered. Massaging his eyes, he asked. "Aibacchin... Why did you lie about us being at the carnival to Yagami-senpai?"

Aiba looked away. "I said that because...I didn't want him to know that we were together... it would be too awkward," he explained.

Shirota pushed himself to sit up. "How would that be awkward?" he demanded. "And what's wrong if we went there together?"

"You wouldn't understand!" Aiba snapped. "No one would understand! Not you, not Yagami-senpai and especially not my father!" he said before he clamped his hand over his mouth, realizing what he said.

A small smile crept up Shirota's face. "Then help me understand... Tell me why you find it difficult to express yourself freely... what grudge you have against your father..." Shirota stated clearly and quietly.

"It's not exactly what you can call a grudge..." Aiba said. "I suppose I should start with why I'm staying at the dorms."

"I...I live in the dorms by choice. I didn't tell my family that I was going to stay there because I knew that if they did they would find a way to make me go back home to them...and to my father," he started.

"My father and I...we weren't in the best of terms when I left... He's always been there for me and my sister since we were young. Even when he's so busy with work he still manages to find time to be with us. I love my father...it's just that... every time he starts talking about the morals he wants us to integrate with ourselves... it's...it's different from the ones I have." He paused for a bit, unsure if he should go on.

"My sister and I had learned to accept whatever our father tells us...but I...I knew I had to draw the line when he started telling me how I should live my life." He looked at Shirota. "I realized that what he wanted for me was not what I wanted for myself and I told him that...he said that he could not accept it. That he can never accept it...so I left," he finished.

"And... you and your father haven't been on speaking terms since then?" Shirota inquired.

Aiba nodded. "Not just my father, but my whole family as well," he admitted. "I haven't been talking to my mother and sister either."

Shirota sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I see..." was all he could say.

Aiba stayed silent for a while before standing up. "I'll tell the nurse that you're awake."

Shirota nodded before massaging his temples. _'Looks like I'll be busy tomorrow,'_ he concluded.

----------

After he was excused from the infirmary, Shirota bid his farewells to Aiba and went to locate Ueshima-sensei, who was thankfully at the school checking the exams. After asking him for Aiba's address - after a quick explanation of his plan - he headed home and spent the night enjoying a meal with his sister Maria.

After lunch the next day, Shirota headed out and went to visit the Aiba residence. It took him a while to commute and eventually stopped when he reached his destination. "Looks like this is the place..." he stated before glancing at the enormous house as he walked up to the front porch and rang on the doorbell.

----------

Aiba Daisuke looked up from finishing the financial reports for the company where he works in. "I'll get it," he said. He opened the door and looked outside, he saw a boy, around Hiroki's age by his estimate. He studied him for a moment. "Yes?"

Shirota bowed politely. "Konnichiwa. Shirota Yuu desu. I'm a classmate of your son Hiroki at Mitsukaru High," he introduced. "I was wondering if I could speak to you and your family for a while, Aiba-san," he explained.

"Hiro--" Daisuke was cut off as his wife, Aiba Mikoto, who moved up in front of him.

"A classmate of Hiroki's, you say? Oh do come in!" she said brightly as she ushered Shirota inside. "I'm Aiba Mikoto, Hiroki's mother," she introduced. "And over there…" she said as she pointed to Daisuke. "…is his father, Aiba Daisuke."

"And I'm Hinako, Hiroki's older sister," Hinako greeted as she came from upstairs.

"So tell me, Shirota-kun. How is Hiroki doing at school? It's been a while since we talked to him," Mikoto asked.

Daisuke blinked from his spot on the doorway. He looked at Shirota as he was led to sit on the couch. He frowned. Something about the boy didn't sit right with him.

Shirota, surprised at this welcoming, sat down on the couch. "A-no... Hiroki-kun's been doing quite well in school... He's joined the school paper and has written quite a few articles already..." he stated. "He's one of the top students in the class in terms of grades, I believe," he added with a smile.

"That's so good to hear," Mikoto said with a relieved sigh. "So Shirota-kun, what did you want to talk to us about?" she asked. "Ah~ but before that, would you like some cake?" she asked.

"Chocolate cake!" Hinako added as she sat down on the other side of the couch.

"Anata, would you be a dear and get Shirota-kun some cake from the fridge?" Mikoto asked.

Daisuke looked at Shirota for a while before nodding; he came back moments later with a slice of cake and some water. "Here," he said as he handed them to Shirota and sat down on an armchair nearby.

Shirota controlled himself when they had mentioned chocolate. He took the slice from Daisuke-san and nodded gratefully. "Itadakimasu," he said before enjoying the cake. After washing it down with water, he set the plate and glass down on the table in front of him before bringing his hand to his knees, bowing to them. "Thank you for the cake. It was delicious."

"It's no problem at all, Shirota-kun...now please go ahead and tell us what you wanted to talk about," Mikoto said with a pleasant smile.

Daisuke eyed him warily, listening as Shirota told them about what he had found out about Aiba. Daisuke frowned when the boy mentioned about his son's fears.

Hinako sighed as she told her parents as well about her short conversation with his brother. After a while, they concluded that they would give Hiroki more time to think about what was happening and thanked Shirota for coming to tell them about his situation.

Mikoto and Daisuke excused themselves for a while to talk about something while Hinako stayed behind to stay with Shirota.

"So...tell me Shirota-kun...are you really _just_ a classmate of my brother?" she asked with a smile "Please be honest with me…"

A faint blush came to the boy's cheeks as he squeezed his palms into fists. "If it was in my perspective..." Shirota began carefully. "No... But in Hiroki-kun's perspective, I'm not sure..." He turned to Hinako with a small smile. "I've tried to bring Hiroki out of his seriousness and, in the process... Well, let's say I've grown much more interested in unlocking his true self..." Shirota finished. "I know somewhere deep down... Aibacchin can be a carefree spirit... He's just really held back to be able to express himself freely..."

"That's true...but it would seem that he's already taking after his father since he moved out…" Mikoto said as she came out from the kitchen, Daisuke behind her.

Hinako smiled. "Well, Shirota-kun...let me wish you luck, then," she said. "I'm sure you'll get Hiroki to see things your way."

Daisuke said nothing as he simply looked at Shirota. The visit ended up with Mikoto giving Shirota another slice of cake to take home, Daisuke remaining silent as he watched Shirota leave.

Hinako waved as she said her goodbyes. "Visit us again sometime!!" she said.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," Shirota said, bowing as he left the Aiba residence with the slice of cake in a box with him. The day was turning into dusk as he headed to the train station, remnants of his talk with Aiba's family returning to him.

_**"The reason I came here today... is because I believe that every family should maintain a bond despite the barriers between them," Shirota told them. "Every person should be given the opportunity to decide their future, and their family members**_** should **_**be there to provide the support, not hinder them from achieving what they truly desire."**_

Shirota sighed. _'I probably said a few things out of line... Aiba-san didn't really say much... I was hoping to change his mind about it...'_ he told himself.

It was Monday, another school day and the beginning of a new quarter. Aiba woke up to early and decided to check his e-mail. He opened his inbox and saw that there were three messages. One from his mother, another from his sister...and to his surprise, the last one was from his father.

Aiba decided to read first the mail of his mother.

_'Hiroki,_

_A classmate of yours came over today, and he told us all about how you were doing. I'm glad that you're doing well in school._

_Honey, please remember that whatever happens we will always be here for you._

_--Mom'_

Aiba sighed heavily. He moved on to the next e-mail which was from his older sister. It was quite short, actually; a one-liner. But it made his eyes go wide as soon as he read it.

_'WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!'_

He frowned as he moved on to the next e-mail, keeping in mind that he would have to contact his sister about this later. He read the e-mail from his father, which was -as he expected- as short as his sister's. Even if it was short, it had the same impact on him.

_'Hiroki,_

_Don't be afraid to follow a path that you have chosen on your own.'_

As plain and simple as that.

_'What's going on?!'_ he thought as he closed his laptop and started getting ready for the day, Kimeru also waking up. He glared at his reflection in the mirror. "Classmate, huh..." he muttered darkly.

----------

Aiba arrived at a later time in school intentionally. As soon as he entered the room, he saw that almost all his classmates were present. He slammed a thick book on his table, effectively catching the attention of the people in the room.

"Who went to my house and talked to my parents?!" he asked, his voice laced with dark promise if no one answered.

Shirota, leaning back on his seat, raised his hand high enough for Aiba to spot it. "I did," he replied.

Aiba glared at the boy beside him and grabbed him by the wrist. "Come with me," he said as he dragged him to the rooftop, locking the door behind them. "Why...Why do you have to bother yourself with my personal affairs?! What the hell made you go to my family and talk to them about things that you shouldn't even know?" he asked; anger evident in his voice.

Shirota, unfazed by this outburst, had curtly replied, "Because I like you."

Aiba froze for a few seconds before he started shaking his head. "No....don't....Don't even joke about things like that...it's not funny!" he said, turning away from Shirota.

"If I was joking, I would've been laughing by now," Shirota stated seriously. "Besides, did you ever feel something strange whenever you and I were together?"

"I...I..." _'I did...'_ he finished in his mind. He closed his eyes. "Don't...please don't make me do this, Shirota-kun...I can't do this…you wouldn't understand...you don't understand!" Aiba said. He was feeling helpless right now. This was the exact same thing that he didn't want to happen.

Shirota took a deep breath and exhaled as he moved to the railings and clung onto it, leaning forward slightly. He looked over to the soccer field before stating, "Fathers don't hate their kids, you know..."

Aiba looked at him. "You wouldn't know...." he said. He had given up trying to gain control over his emotions. He glared at Shirota. "You don't know what the hell you're doing...I don't want to cause any more rifts in my relationship with my father...I don't know what you told them or what they told you, but this isn't your concern!!" he yelled.

"It _is_ my concern!" Shirota bit back harshly, clutching tighter on the railings. "Don't go around thinking you're the only one who has problems with their family!" he shouted, shutting his eyes in frustration.

"Then go and trouble yourself with your own family!" Aiba snapped. "I can take care of myself, Shirota Yuu! I can take care of myself and my own problems!! I am not some helpless kid that you have to go running around for!"

Aiba looked at Shirota, breathing unevenly due to the burst of emotions. "...I don't want you...to do anything for me...I don't want you to get involved anymore than you are right now..." he said in a softer voice. _'And most importantly...I can't let you get involved because if this continues...I won't be able to force myself to kill these feelings I have for you...'_ he thought.

Shirota sighed heavily, calming himself down. "My parents got divorced when I was in the 4th grade. I was the youngest at the time, and all four of us were still attending school," he began. "My father was worried about being able to support us all so he and my mother agreed to get divorced, each taking custody of two kids each; my older brothers with my father, and my older sister and myself, and eventually Rina, with my mother."

Shirota turned his attention to the field again. "But since they didn't want to blame this situation on us, they _did_ agree on keeping the house that I'm staying in while at the same time, each of them getting themselves an apartment. This difficult routine for my brothers and sister as we were growing up was making them hurt inside, but they were happy like I was because of the fact that we _were_ still a family, in a way... It was very rare when we would see each other, though... complete as a family..." Shirota bit his lip before he continued.

"My father is a workaholic, so he rarely comes to visit the house due to all the shows he writes... My mother manages a restaurant, but manages to come over every other weekend... Dai-ani, who's working in the music business, stays with my father most of the time and comes to the house unexpectedly... Maria-neesan works as a book editor, so she's able to stay at the house from Friday to Monday every week... Jun-ani stays at the house every other day, and spends Tuesdays and Thursdays at his bandmate's house. He stays through the weekend whenever kaa-san's there..."

Shirota rubbed the back of his neck. "When I went and talked to your family yesterday, I realized... that it was a nice atmosphere to be around... It's obvious that they love you and are worried about you... Your father was silent throughout my entire visit, and your mother even mentioned that you were taking after him when you moved out..." He turned around to face Aiba for the first time since they had gone up there. "Ever since I met you, I noticed that you were serious about things, so I wanted to try and get you to laugh... But since you seemed to have mastered your control on your emotions because of your situation, I have to ask... Was your reaction back at the carnival a forced or genuine laugh?"

Aiba listened quietly as Shirota talked to him. He found himself unable to look at Shirota even if the other had already turned around to look at him. He averted his gaze to the ground, shaking his head. "I...I can never force a laugh," he said. "Back then...even I didn't understand why I felt so at ease with you. I could never understand why....why I found it easy to tell you everything," he admitted. "No matter how hard I try, I just couldn't conceal my emotions from you...you had always managed to break away my barriers to make me show who I really am." He paused. "It's not that I really didn't understand...it's just that...I don't want to understand..." he finished as he closed his eyes.

"Then why are you still hesitating? What's keeping you from understanding that simple fact?!" Shirota demanded.

----------

Meanwhile, back in the 1-1 classroom, Ueshima-sensei stepped in for homeroom. "Ohayou!" he greeted as they took their seats. He blinked as he noticed two empty desks in the back which he knew belonged to Aiba and Shirota. He smirked before popping his notebook open. "Okay, I'm going to start taking attendance~!"

----------

Aiba bit his bottom lip, his body trembling. "I don't want to go against my father because...because..." he started, tears starting to fall from his eyes. "Because I'm afraid!" he said as his eyes opened to look at Shirota. "I'm afraid that when I finally understand, I won't be able to turn around and go back!" he stopped for a moment.

"But...it's too late because I did understand it....I figured it out after leaving your house a few days ago," he said quietly. "I...I admit to myself now...that I feel the same way that you do...and I've never been more afraid in my entire life," he finished as he wrapped his arms around himself, his gaze averted to the ground once more.

Shirota's features softened as he slowly approached Aiba before he gently placed both hands on the other boy's shoulders. "If that's the case..." he started off quietly. "I'll wait for you, then. I'll wait for you to gain the courage to confront your father." He hesitated for a moment before tipping Aiba's chin so that they could look at each other eye-to-eye. "I won't leave your side."

"S-Shirota..." Aiba managed to say before hugging the other boy and breaking down.

Shirota smiled, wrapping his arms around the boy before slowly falling to his knees as he tried helping Aiba calm down while rubbing his back. "Saa, we still have classes to attend..." he stated quietly. "Stop crying, Aibacchin..."

Aiba simply nodded as he tried to calm himself down. A few moments later he pulled away from Shirota. "T-Thank you Shirota-kun..." he said as he smiled softly. "Come on…" he said as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "…we better head back before Ueshima-sensei sends someone to look for us."

Shirota helped Aiba up to his feet before they headed to the door. "Ueshima-sensei knows when to leave private matters alone," he stated as he unlocked the door and pulled it open, gesturing for Aiba to go ahead.

Aiba smiled. "Aa...I know that much..." he said quietly.

----------

The two went back to their classroom, earning smiles and a few thumbs up from their classmates, which Aiba found strange. Ueshima-sensei even winked at them when they got back to their seats. Aiba felt much better that everything was all out on the open for him and Shirota, now all he had to do was to think about confronting his father.

----------

Lunch break came easily, and as expected, the halls were filled with the students.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Kimeru yelled as he ran out of his classroom; the people moved to the side to avoid getting hit by him. Even if Takigawa's room was just next door, Kimeru looked like he was going to run down the hallway.

"Takigawa! Look at this!!" he said happily as he shoved a piece of paper in front of Takigawa. The paper was a list of his grades so far, and not only were they above the passing marks, but it was way above it.

He even managed to top Sota in the Math exam, which was a feat in itself since Sota was the top of their class. The aforementioned boy was still in their room, looking at his paper in disbelief.

Takigawa, disoriented for a moment when the paper was flashed in his face, took Kimeru's hands and pushed the paper back so he could see it properly. He broke into a grin, nodding to him. "Omedetou, Kimeru," he congratulated, nodding over to him as he took his own list of grades and proceeded to keep it before Toru took hold of it.

"As usual..." Toru said, sighing as he handed it back. "Takigawa ranks 1st in all of the exams..." he stated slyly before heading back to his seat.

"So...are you two together now?" Nagayan asked, suddenly appearing between the two of them.

"Aa…with the exam done and all nothing's left to wait for!" Furukawa added, appearing this time behind them.

"I hate to say this but they're right," Daisuke grudgingly said.

"Not to mention that you're going to come back to the band now!" Koji said happily.

Ken'ichiro, the latest addition to the band and current vocalist, patted them both on the shoulder. "I'm looking forward to working with you senpai!" he said with a smile.

"I'll be expecting you back in the band, Kimeru...you're welcome anytime as well, Takigawa," Konishi said, nodding toward the both of them.

"Hey! You never answered my question Kime~~" Nagayan said as he looked at the two. "Are you two together now or not?" he asked. The rest quieted down, even Takigawa's classmates.

Kimeru swore he was blushing as he glared at his bandmates that had appeared one by one. "Yes we're together now! So will you leave us alone?!" he snapped.

His friends looked at one another and grinned. "Congratulations then Kime~" Nagayan said as he stood up. "See! I told you they're together now!" he told the rest as the group left the room.

A big round of applause came from the rest of the class. A playful smirk appeared on Takigawa's face which he shot over to Kimeru, nodding in silent approval at his testimony.

----------

That evening, as Kimeru was looking at his notebook and averaging his final grades - which the teachers had happily provided -, he couldn't help but smile. "I can't believe it...I got a B…" he said with a smile.

"Good for you senpai," Aiba said as he typed away on his laptop.

Kimeru looked over at him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm sending an e-mail to my parents," Aiba stated.

"I thought you said you don't want them to know how you're doing," Kimeru said slyly.

Aiba glared at him. "Change of plans. Now leave me alone."

Kimeru chuckled. "Sure Aiba...oh yeah catch," he said as he threw a small square-ish object to Aiba who caught it. "That's my thanks for that little video of yours," he said.

Aiba looked at the thing in his hands and his eyes widened. "I've been looking for this program for the longest time!" he said as he looked at Kimeru who already had his back turned.

"Dumb luck. I grabbed the first thing I saw. Now stop talking, I'm going to bed."

Aiba grinned; he knew it wasn't dumb luck because the program was rather rare and to get one copy you would have to order it a week in advance. "Thanks senpai…" he said simply.

Kimeru smiled.

The next day, both of the boys had woken up, causing them to rush to get ready. They ran all the way to the school and managed to get to their rooms as soon as the bell rang.

"Made it!" Aiba said in relief as he sat down on his seat.

"I'm surprised you came in late today, Aibacchin," Shirota greeted, grinning from his seat.

"Yosh! Homeroom's starting!" Ueshima-sensei announced, entering the classroom from the other door and heading to the teacher's desk.

"I spent almost half the night sending e-mails to my sister..." Aiba said as he got to his seat. "And I didn't even get to have breakfast because Kimeru-senpai woke up late too...he spent the night telling me that he was already with Takigawa-senpai..." he added quietly so that only Shirota would hear.

"Is that so?" Shirota mused, smirking as Ueshima began taking attendance. _'I was on the phone with Eiji-kun until 11 because of that...'_

Aiba sighed. "I swear...Kimeru-senpai has got to be the most annoying guy I had ever known..." he muttered before he pulled out his notebook.

The rest of the week passed by smoothly. Aiba spent most of his nights sending e-mails to his family. The four had planned to meet that Saturday to spend some time together. Aiba hesitated about the plan a bit when Kimeru told him; the junior had prodded him until he said his reasons. Aiba was planning to talk to his father that Saturday, to settle things once and for all. Kimeru understood and promised not to tell the other two until that day and for this, Aiba was grateful.

When Saturday arrived, imeru finished getting ready and was now walking to Takigawa's place, which was where they had all agreed to meet. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

Shirota had told his family that he was going to go out with Takigawa and a few others and headed over to the older boy's house for breakfast. Enjoying Takigawa's special pancake recipe, Shirota played with Pearl for a while after breakfast as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it~!" Shirota called as he got to his feet. Takigawa was in the kitchen washing the dishes. He pulled the door open. "Ah! Ohayou, Kimeru-senpai!" he greeted.

Kimeru grinned as he messed up Shirota's hair. "Ohayou, Shirota-kun," he greeted as he went inside. "I'm afraid Aiba won't be able to join us this morning, but he did say that he's going to try to catch up," he said.

----------

Aiba sighed as he looked at the door in front of him. "Now or never..." he muttered as he turned the key and opened the door. "I'm...home..." he called out.

----------

Shirota closed the door and frowned. "Is that so..." he said before moving to fix his hair.

Takigawa emerged from the kitchen. "Oh, you're here," he greeted, nodding to Kimeru.

Kimeru smiled at Takigawa before looking at Shirota again. "Don't be disappointed, Shirota-kun...after all...when he comes back he may have a surprise for you," he said. "He went to talk to his father."

----------

"Hiroki!" Aiba's mother exclaimed as she hugged her son.

"About time you came back, little brother!" Hinako said happily as she patted Aiba on the shoulder.

Aiba pulled back and smiled at them. "Mother...I need to talk to father," he stated.

"I'm here," Daisuke said as he entered the room.

----------

Shirota's eyes widened as Pearl began pawing at his leg. "He what?" he inquired.

"Shirotan... If you don't notice Pearl, she'll bite you," Takigawa reminded him.

Shirota looked down and picked the dog up before she could complain and bite him.

Kimeru patted Pearl on the head before continuing. "He's been planning it since Wednesday. He didn't want you guys to find out for a while, he said...and since I couldn't think up an excuse for him I just told the truth," he said with a smirk.

----------

"And this is all coming from you, Hiroki?" Daisuke said as he looked at his son who looked straight back at him.

"Hai, all this was my decision...though I did get a certain someone to push me in the right direction along the way," Aiba said.

Daisuke thought about it for a moment. "Fine, do as you like..." he said as he continued working on his financial report.

Aiba smiled and bowed. "Arigatou, tou-san..." he said.

"Hiroki...is the person who you said 'pointed you to the right direction' the same one who you said was the one you…" he paused for a bit, thinking of the right term. "...the one you like?" he asked.

Aiba nodded. "Hai, the same one," he answered firmly.

"May I know who he is?" he asked.

Aiba smiled widely. "His name is Shirota Yuu."

Daisuke froze and looked up from what he was doing. "S-Shirota Yuu?!"

----------

Shirota glared over to Kimeru. "Some roommate you are..." he stated darkly before chuckling. "I'm glad you told us, though," he added.

Takigawa checked the time. "Saa, shall we head off? We've got a lot planned for the day, after all."

Kimeru grinned. "Sure," he said. "And hopefully by the end of this day _someone_ here would finally stop having to wait."

----------

"Shirota Yuu? Wasn't he the one who came over here last weekend?" Mikoto asked.

"Same one," Aiba answered.

"I knew it!!" Hinako cheered.

Aiba laughed before looking at his father who was still wearing a shocked expression.

"Don't worry about him, dear. Come tell us all about what happened in school and about that Shirota that you're so fond of," Mikoto said as he led Aiba upstairs to talk, Hinako behind them.

----------

Later that afternoon, Aiba said his goodbyes to his family, promising that he would visit again soon with Shirota -as requested by both his mother and sister. He smiled as he headed off to the place where he had planned to go along with his friends, excited to see them…and more importantly, to end the wait of a certain someone.

----------

The three had chosen to have lunch at a burger place, where they took their time consuming their food. Takigawa and Kimeru, who were having more fun enjoying each other's company, pulled Shirota to the karaoke bar to sing a few songs.

"Hai, next song's yours," Takigawa stated, handing the microphone to Shirota.

Shirota shook his head. "I'll pass," he said politely.

Kimeru was texting Aiba their location when he heard Shirota decline. "I'll go ahead then!" he said as he took the microphone and chose a song to sing. "Nanka Shiwase…here we go," he said as he encoded the song.

After singing, Kimeru noticed someone knocking on the door of the small soundproof room. "Look who came to join us," he said with a smirk as he walked to the door and opened it. "Took you long enough, Aiba," he said.

Aiba smiled sheepishly as he entered the room. "Sorry I'm late..." he said as he sat beside Shirota.

"How'd it go?" Shirota muttered, scratching his cheek.

"I-te, i-te..." Takigawa cried as he accidently leaned against the wall with his swollen cheek. "Mou, this is why I don't like being in fights..." he complained.

Aiba glanced at Kimeru for a while when Shirota asked this. "What? I couldn't think of an excuse," Kimeru said with a smirk as he went over to Takigawa to check the bandage on his cheek. "Tsk...that still needs around a week to heal..." he muttered, effectively distracting Takigawa.

Aiba smiled as he noticed what Kimeru was doing before he turned his attention to Shirota. "It went quite well," he said as he took hold of Shirota's hand and leaned a bit closer to him. "They were quite easy to talk to about everything and my conversation with father went more smoothly since the family knew you and loved you ...just like I do."

Shirota smiled as he grasped Aiba's hand in his own. "I'm still apprehensive with your father, though..." Shirota said carefully with a frown.

----------

"You punch stronger than Watanabe-kun..." Takigawa commented.

"Hey! Don't compare me with that caveman/barbarian!" Kimeru said as he playfully punched Takigawa on the shoulder.

----------

"Mother and Hinako-neesan will turn his mind around sooner or later," Aiba assured him. "So don't worry, okay?" he said before kissing Shirota on the cheek.

"About bloody time!!" Kimeru said as he smirked at the two, causing Aiba to blush.

Shirota smiled, leaning onto Aiba.

Takigawa saw this and smirked. "Glad to see you two are finally together," he stated.

Shirota blushed. "It took a week..." he muttered.

"And here I thought I had to use drastic measures to get the two of you together," Kimeru said with a smirk.

Aiba frowned. "Drastic measures?" he asked.

Kimeru nodded. "I mean like locking the both of you in the janitor's closet for a while. It worked with Daisuke and Furukawa," he explained.

Aiba rolled his eyes. "Right..." he said.

Kimeru chuckled. "But since you two are already together then I wouldn't do that....or would I?" he said slyly.

"Kimeru-senpai!!" Aiba exclaimed, blushing furiously.

Shirota rubbed his temples. "Please don't mention 'closets'...." he stated darkly.

Takigawa chuckled. "Ah, that's right," he said, sitting down beside Shirota, patting him on the back. "His brothers locked him alone in the closet for half an hour when Aiba-kun slept over," Takigawa explained as Shirota pouted.

"Seriously, they could've found a better way to handle the situation..." Shirota complained.

Aiba chuckled. "Don't worry, Shirota-kun...I won't let Kimeru-senpai do that," he said.

Kimeru raised an eyebrow. "Now this Aiba I haven't seen before..." he said. "…am I right in assuming that this is also your doing, Shirota?" he asked.

Shirota shrugged his shoulders. "Saa... You're going to have to ask Aibacchin," he replied pointedly as he stood and retrieved the microphone.

Kimeru chuckled and looked at Aiba who smirked at him. "Do I really have to answer that senpai or is that a rhetorical question?" he said.

Kimeru shrugged.

Shirota, in the meantime, punched in _**'Unbalance na Kiss wo Shite'**_ on the machine before the song started.

Takigawa decided to leave the two roommates to argue as he tended to his swollen cheek while watching Shirota sing. _'I forgot how much he enjoyed karaoke...'_ he chuckled fondly to himself.

After spending an hour and a half in the karaoke booth, the four headed out to have dinner in a nearby restaurant before going home or back to the dorms.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	8. School Productions

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 8th chapter entitled **School Productions**. This chapter focuses on Mitsukaru putting on a musical production for the quarter, managed by the Student Council. The chosen production was Broadway's RENT. With Takigawa and Shirota as part of the cast, Kimeru and Aiba share different views with their respective partner's involvement in the musical.

Shirota and Aiba share their sweet kisses with one another when they visit each other – Aiba teaching Shirota tango for the musical, and Shirota helping Aiba move back in with his family. Kimeru, now alone in the dorm, moves in with Takigawa.

Oh yeeeees. Another disclaimer. RENT is not ours, obviously.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

Come Monday, Aiba had arrived early once again. He looked around and noticed that no one else was there. He sat at his desk and waited for Shirota. He had spoken to his family the day before and he decided that it would be easier for him to leave the dorms and come back home.

Kimeru knew about this already, and he didn't complain; the junior had anticipated it happening since Aiba told him that he was in touch with his family again.

----------

Lunch time had strolled around and Takigawa had thought of going to visit Kimeru in his classroom for a change. He peeked into the room before Nagayan pulled him inside.

"WE WERE WAITING FOR YOU!!" he said brightly, sitting him beside Kimeru. "Here, talk with him. He's feeling upset and he won't tell us about it."

Takigawa blinked, unsettled for a moment before he turned to Kimeru. "Eh... So..."

Kimeru glanced at him before turning his attention to the empty seat in front of him and sighing heavily. "Aiba is moving out of the dorms," he stated simply.

"So you lost your roommate... It's not as if you had trouble living on your own in the dorms last year, right?" Takigawa offered.

"I didn't..." Kimeru said. "But that's because I slept at Nagayan's place at least three times a week." He looked at Nagayan and glared at him. "…and apparently I won't be able to do it now since he's dating some guy from section one that practically lives with them right now."

"Oh, you mean Tuti?" Takigawa inquired innocently, grinning at him. "Don't forget that I'm from the same section."

Kimeru's eyes went wide as he looked at Takigawa before turning his attention to Nagayan. "You're dating that nerd?!" he exclaimed.

Nagayan frowned before motioning towards Takigawa. "And you're not?" he asked.

Kimeru grinned. "Takigawa isn't just a nerd, he's also a jock rolled into one," he said. "Kidding, Takigawa," he added quickly.

"But still....Tuti?!"

Nagayan shrugged. "He's a good guy... Hey… are you trying to turn to spotlight towards me? I'm not the one with the problem here," he said.

"I don't recall there ever being a problem to begin with..." Takigawa admitted. "Unless you're not used to being alone..." he added.

"I'm used to being alone!!!" Kimeru snapped. Nagayan and the others looked at him and he frowned. ".....fine I'm not..." he admitted.

Takigawa patted Kimeru on the shoulder before he got to his feet. "You'll find some way to get by, Kime-kun. Saa, I have to go help make some final arrangements to this quarter's Council project with Moriyama-senpai and Shirotan. Ja!" He nodded to the group before leaving the 2-3 classroom and headed off to the Council Room.

"Why didn't you just ask him?!" Daisuke asked as soon as Takigawa went out.

"Ask him what?" Kimeru asked, looking at Daisuke.

"Ask if you can just stay with him! Honestly Kimeru...sometimes you're just too slow to pick up---" Daisuke was cut off when Kimeru threw the thick science book at him.

"Shut up, Daisuke!" he snapped. He frowned as he looked at Daisuke who was now being helped to his feet by Furukawa. "Wait a minute..." he suddenly said, and everyone looked at him. "Did he just call me Kime-kun?" he asked.

Everybody made a mental face palm. _'Slow!'_ they thought.

----------

Aiba looked at his lunch before turning his attention to Shirota. "Shirota-kun...do you want to help me move back in with my family?" he asked suddenly.

Shirota was halfway to his feet. "Ah, so you've decided to move back with them, then?" he said, smiling at him before nodded. "Sure, Aibacchin. But can we talk more about this later? I have to meet with Moriyama-senpai and Takigawa-senpai about the Council's big project for the quarter," he explained, slipping his empty tupperware into his bag as he rose to his feet. "Ja." With that, he left.

"Sure," Aiba said with a smile before waving at Shirota as he left.

"So.....Aibacchin..." Endo started.

"Don't call me that!" Aiba snapped at him.

"Er...sure…so...Aiba..." Endo continued. "Are you and Shirota together?"

"You'll have to get him to answer that one, Endo-kun," Aiba answered as he turned his attention back to his lunch.

----------

In the Council Room, the rest of lunch break for the members of the Student Council were spent making revisions and final plans with the musical. After much debate, Shirota presented the list of the students who would take part - one from each class besides themselves.

Moriyama took the list and read it. "This should be about right. We'll schedule a meeting with them all tomorrow after school," he announced. "You two can head back to your classrooms. Thanks for the help."

Takigawa and Shirota nodded and stood, bowing to their president before exiting the Council Room.

"Looks like you and I have a shot at being in a musical, Eiji-kun," Shirota teased.

Takigawa slapped the boy on the head. "Like I'm going to be a part of the cast..." he stated.

"It could happen. Your voice isn't so bad, after all..." Shirota reassured the older boy, patting him on the shoulder as Takigawa shrugged.

They parted ways and returned to their respective classrooms. Takigawa, upon reaching his classroom, was confronted by Furukawa. Blinking for a moment, Takigawa asked, "What's wrong with Kimeru now?"

"What happened to calling him 'Kime-kun'?" Furukawa teased. "I'll cut to the chase Takigawa-kun," he started. "We -as in Kimeru's friends and yes that involves Daisuke too- want you to ask Kimeru to stay with you if it's possible." He looked at Takigawa seriously. "Kimeru really can't be trusted to take care of himself. That was why Nagayan had to look after him at least thrice a week and when Aiba-kun came along he was the one who kept an eye on him," he said. "You can even ask Aiba-kun about it, I'm sure he'd tell you." He paused. "So I think that's it," Furukawa said as the smile came back. "Do keep in mind what I just said, Takigawa-kun." He bowed a bit before heading back to his seat.

Takigawa's eyes followed Furukawa as he returned to his seat. Pursing his lips, he stepped back into the room and took his own seat. _'Not that I mind, though...i_ he thought to himself, the hint of a smirk appearing on his own features.

----------

Fortunately, the teacher after lunch for first year section one was absent, thus giving them a free period. "Oi, Shirota!!" Endo called out.

"Doushita, Endo-kun?" Shirota inquired as he re-entered the classroom.

Endo walked up to him. "Do you and Aiba have a thing for each other?" he asked bluntly.

"E...Eh?" Shirota stammered.

"Aiba told us to ask _you_," Yanagi added, walking up beside Endo, folding his arms across his chest.

Shirota looked over to Aiba for a moment before sighing, eventually nodding. "Aa. We do," he replied clearly.

"U-SO!!" Endo and Yanagi stated in momentary disbelief at the same time before grinning to one another. "WE KNEW IT!"

Zukki, who heard this a few seats down, stared at the Endo and Yanagi. "Really Shirota-kun?! You and Aiba-kun?" he asked.

Aiba sighed. "Yes, so now stop making a big deal about it!!" he told the rest of the class who were either giving each other high fives or were handing each other certain amounts of money.

"WAIT!!" Zukki suddenly yelled, effectively grabbing the attention of the class. "So are you two together?" he asked, all eyes fell on Aiba and Shirota.

Aiba smirked before standing up to walk towards Shirota. "What do you think?" he asked before taking hold of Shirota's hand.

"It took a while..." Shirota began. "But yes... we are..." he finished, nodding to the rest of his classmates, who proceeded to cheer in applause. Shirota turned to Aiba. "Who knew this would turn into such a big thing, huh?" he said with a nervous chuckle. "Saa, about those plans of you moving back with your family..." he continued, moving to their desks.

Aiba grinned. "Aa...it would seem that we were obvious enough to let everyone notice the tension between us," he said. "So anyway...I was planning to move back this Saturday. I'm sure my mother would be pleased to see you again…" he began as he proceeded to tell Shirota of his plans.

The next day after school, Aiba was heading to the school auditorium. He was assigned by Yagami to cover the preparations of the upcoming school musical, along with the musical itself. He opened the door and looked inside.

"Aiba-kun, just in time," Yagami said as he waved at Aiba.

"Er...hai..." Aiba said as he approached him.

"I've already talked to the people in charge and they said that it's fine with them," Yagami said as he led him to the front row seats. "Here you go. Pay attention, Aiba-kun," he said before joining the other people onstage.

Aiba nodded before looking at the group. "Hmm...Yanagi-kun....Kazuki-kun and Shiozawa-kun from the first years..." he muttered as he took down notes. "Toru-senpai, Kawai-senpai and Sota-senpai for the second years and Yagami-senpai, Takumi-senpai and Moriyama-senpai for the seniors...that's strange...they said that there were 11 people in the cast...I only see 9..." he said before looking around.

"Check over there," Takigawa's voice called from backstage as he stepped out. "The previous production used it before, so it shouldn't be hard to---"

"FOUND IT!!" Shirota exclaimed, cycling onto the stage, circling the others before coming to a stop.

"It's dangerous!" Kazuki yelled, pointing threateningly at Shirota. "That bicycle is not to be trusted!"

Shirota put down the break stand and got off the bike. "A-re? Why not?" he inquired.

"Because Kazuki fell off that same bike during last year's production. Quite a number of times," Takumi supplied.

"You didn't have to bring that up!" Kazuki stated heatedly.

Aiba heard a familiar voice, causing him to look up. "SHIROTA-KUN?! TAKIGAWA-SENPAI?!" he exclaimed, standing up in surprise.

Shirota and Takigawa turned to Aiba. "Doushita?" they inquired simultaneously.

"I'm telling you, we don't need to use this!" Kazuki complained.

"Yes we do!" Shirota fired back, turning his attention to Kazuki, taking hold of the bike before Kazuki could push it offstage. "You won't be the one riding it!" Shirota added, causing Kazuki to stop.

"Oh..."

Takigawa approached Moriyama and handed him a piece of paper. "Here's the final list you wanted me to print out..." he muttered.

"What's wrong? You don't like the casting?" Moriyama inquired, a grin spread across his face as he took the paper and scanned through it.

Takigawa glared over to Moriyama but said nothing.

Aiba shook his head and sat back down. _'....now I know why Yagami-senpai assigned me here instead of Adachi...'_ he thought with a frown. He looked at his notebook, which was a replacement of his old one which he lost a few days back, and listed down the last two cast members.

"Yosh!" Moriyama announced, clapping his hands together and getting everybody's attention. "I'll now be announcing the cast list and the corresponding roles for our rendition of the musical **RENT**." He consulted the list for a minute. "Oh yes, Baba Toru and Shiozawa Hidemasa shall be directing this production alongside me. So, onto our cast! Playing the role of Benny, we have Kawai Ryunosuke!" he began, gesturing to the second year.

Ryunosuke merely nodded in recognition.

"Next, playing the role of Collins, Aoyama Sota!" Moriyama continued.

"Isn't he that philosophy professor...?" Sota inquired as Moriyama nodded.

"Yagami Ren shall be playing the role of Angel!"

Yagami smiled fondly at this decision but said nothing, allowing Moriyama to continue.

"The roles of Joanne and Maureen will be played by Kato Kazuki and Saito Takumi respectively."

Kazuki and Takumi glared over to one another before simultaneously exclaiming, "WHAT?!?!?!"

Moriyama chuckled. "The role of Mark will be played by Shirota Yuu!"

Shirota grinned over nervously to Aiba before nodding. "Aa..."

"Next, the role of Mimi will be taken by Yanagi Kotaro!" Moriyama shouted, pointing to the freshman.

Yanagi pointed to himself. "M...Me?" he asked in disbelief.

"And finally, the role of Roger will be played by Takigawa Eiji!" Moriyama finished.

Aiba simply smiled at Shirota before giving him a thumbs-up sign.

"Takigawa is who?!" Kimeru asked loudly as he burst into the room. He was about to charge at Moriyama when four pairs of hands held him back and dragged him out of the auditorium.

"Er...give us a minute," Nagayan said before closing the door.

Aiba blinked and stared at the closed doors for while, and after a few moments it opened again and in walked the band club along with Kimeru who was a bit calmer.

"Band Club's here for the songs!" Konishi announced, leading the group towards the stage area.

"Ah, very good, very good..!" Moriyama stated, moving to the edge of the stage to meet with them. "Here's the list of the songs we'll be using for the musical," he explained, handing out another piece of paper to Konishi.

----------

Shirota returned to the bike and examined it. "But seriously, I don't think you'd hate a bike just because you kept falling down, Kazuki..." he reasoned, getting on it and was about to take off around the stage again before Kazuki stopped him.

"That bike is cursed!" Kazuki proclaimed. "I kept falling down because--"

"Because you didn't know how to use the brakes properly," Takumi finished.

Kazuki turned to Takumi, glaring dangerously at the senior. "WHY DO YOU KEEP TELLING THEM THESE THINGS?!" he demanded. "Takumi-senpai!"

A chase scene between the two members of the drama club started as Toru and Shiozawa began talking about the script.

----------

Kimeru looked at Aiba. "You don't mind it?" he asked the freshman.

Aiba shook his head. "No... Should I mind it?" he inquired.

Kimeru frowned. "Whatever Aiba..." he said as he joined the rest of the band club who was looking at the list of songs.

----------

Shirota cycled another round around the stage to test out the bike some more.

Takigawa sat down on the stage, heaving a sigh of relief.

"You _do_ know the musical we're doing, right? Takigawa-senpai..." Yanagi inquired, approaching the second year.

Takigawa nodded. "Aah. The songs, however, were decided by Moriyama-senpai..." he explained.

As if waiting for that cue, Konishi looked up from the paper he was holding. "Attention, please! We're going to play some of the songs we have on the list so that you already have an idea of the tune," he said before nodding at the band, the members of which were just about finished setting up the instruments.

"Oi, Kime! Catch!" Nagayan said as he threw Kimeru one of the microphones while Ken'ichiro had the other one.

"Okay...this will be the line-up of the songs we will be playing: Seasons of Love and La vie Boheme by the whole cast, Tango Maureen by Mark and Joanne, One Song Glory by Roger and Light my Candle by Roger and Mimi," Konishi said as he consulted the list once more. "Yosh! Let's begin!" he nodded again to the band before they started playing.

Shirota stopped when the band started playing and got off the bike to listen to the songs. He paused when he realized that he would be doing a duet with Kazuki, who had stopped chasing after Takumi to listen as well.

Suddenly, a thought struck them both before pointing at one another incredulously. "AHH!! THAT MEAN'S WE HAVE TO DANCE TOGETHER!!!" they declared.

"Oi, quiet down so we can listen to the songs," Sota complained, effectively hushing the two freshmen.

Aiba had to hold back his laughter when he heard Kazuki and Shirota speak up.

Kimeru was looking at Yanagi dangerously as he sang the songs.

As the club was singing excerpts of each song after re-introducing who was going to sing them, Takigawa rubbed the back of his head in frustration. "Of all the times for me to get a solo..." he muttered to himself.

Yanagi blinked as he subconsciously stepped away from Takigawa as he noticed Kimeru glaring at him. The freshman approached the nearest person to him besides the second year - Moriyama.

----------

After performing parts of the songs, Konishi spoke again. "If any of you would like help on the songs feel free to approach any of the band members," he said with a smile; the band nodded in agreement.

Ken'ichiro approached Shirota and handed him a copy of **Tango Maureen**. "Good luck memorizing the song and the tango steps, Shirota-kun. I had a hard time with that dance back in junior high," he said.

----------

Kimeru walked up to Takigawa and gave him the copy of **Light my Candle** and **One Song Glory** before walking towards Yanagi to hand him a copy of the first song as well. "Here..." he said as he gave the paper to the freshman.

Takigawa reviewed the songs and paused when he read the notes for his solo. "But... I don't know how to play the guitar..." he admitted, looking over to Kimeru.

"I can teach you....or better yet...why don't you ask Shirota-kun to teach you?" Kimeru suggested.

Takigawa looked over to Shirota and considered it; after all, the younger boy was fond of composing songs and brought his guitar along to their sleep over when he was in the middle of completing a song. Blinking, he looked back over to Kimeru. "How did you know that Shirotan knows how to play?"

Kimeru grinned. "We were scouting the first years if there was anyone worthy enough to become a band member," he said. "It was too bad that Shirota-kun was more inclined to soccer."

----------

Shirota took the lyrics and nodded. "Let's just hope I don't mess them up, na?" he mused lightly.

Moriyama approached him. "Can I assume that you know how to--"

Shirota immediately shook his head. "Not in the least."

Moriyama frowned before turning to the crowd at large. "Oi, anybody know how to tango here?" he asked.

The band looked at one another before shaking their heads. Aiba raised his hand. "I know how to dance the tango..." he said.

Both Shirota and Moriyama turned to Aiba as the latter of the two grinned.

"Excellent!" he said brightly, patting Shirota on the shoulder. "I leave Shirota-kun with you then, Aiba-kun!" he said before looking around for Kazuki. "Kazuki! Do you need someone to teach you how to--"

"I KNOW HOW!" Kazuki barked out in reply, stopping momentarily from running after Takumi.

"Just checking..." Moriyama called before looking around. "Yosh... Everything seems to be in order now... Toru-kun! Shiozawa-kun! Can I expect the scripts to be ready for distribution by tomorrow?" he asked as Toru nodded.

----------

"So that's why..." Takigawa trailed off and nodded. "I'll ask him about it, then... Which reminds me... About our earlier discussion about you not having a roommate once Aiba-kun leaves... You could always stay with me if you want to..."

----------

Aiba smiled at Shirota. "I can teach you Shirota-kun," he said. "When would you like to start practicing?" he asked.

Shirota nodded. "I'd appreciate it, Aibacchin," he said with a grin. "And probably--"

"Ne, why can Shirota call you Aibacchin and we can't?" Yanagi interjected, walking towards his classmates, the lyrics to his duet with Takigawa in hand.

Aiba looked at Yanagi and glared. "That's because you're not Shirota-kun," he said.

Shirota laughed to clear the tension, patting Yanagi on the shoulder. "Saa, can I take a look at that song for a minute, Yanagi-kun?" he said distractedly, leading Yanagi to a side of the stage so he could recover from Aiba's response.

Aiba smirked before turning his attention back to his notebook.

----------

Kimeru stared at Takigawa for a while. "Are...are you serious?!" he asked in disbelief.

Takigawa nodded. "I wouldn't have offered otherwise," he replied pointedly.

Kimeru smiled. "That's great! I mean sure! I mean....argh darn it..." he said before deciding to hug Takigawa. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, causing the others to look at them.

"You're welcome," Takigawa replied sheepishly.

----------

Shirota was looking through the lyrics from Yanagi's copy before looking over to Takigawa and Kimeru, his eyes widening in surprise.

Aiba looked at the two juniors as well. "Takigawa-senpai and Kimeru-senpai...they sure don't waste any time don't they?" he muttered.

Shirota returned the lyrics to Yanagi and headed over to Aiba, leaning forward to whisper in the boy's ear. "That's because they've been admiring each other from afar since Junior High..." he explained quietly to the boy.

"Junior High? I understand that you heard Takigawa-senpai's side but how did you find out about Kimeru-senpai?" Aiba asked, staring at his two senpais that seemed like they were slow dancing due to the lighting.

"It was when I helped bring Takigawa-senpai and Kimeru-senpai to the clinic after they were involved in that morning fight..." Shirota explained, looking over at the two and grinning. "I'm sure they're happy they're finally able to express their feelings so openly now."

Aiba nodded. "Aa. It's nice to see Kimeru-senpai stop being such a jerk..." he said with a grin.

Shirota returned his attention to Aiba. "Ne, about those practices..." he said, scratching his cheek. "Is Thursday alright with you?" he inquired.

"Thursday sounds fine with me," Aiba answered. "So I'm assuming that we'd do it at your place?" he asked.

Shirota nodded. "Aa. Nobody will be home then, so we'll have the place to ourselves..." he explained.

Aiba nodded. "Then Thursday it is, then," he said with a smile.

----------

That evening, Shirota was at Takigawa's place as was their usual tradition. Takigawa had approached Shirota after their orientation in the auditorium today to ask the boy to teach him how to play the guitar for the musical. Agreeing, Shirota passed by his house and picked up both of his guitars before meeting up at Takigawa's place.

After dinner, Shirota and Takigawa were in the living room as the younger of the two began teaching him the basic notes and proper strumming.

----------

"You don't mind any of this?" Kimeru suddenly asked as he looked at Aiba who was typing away on his laptop.

"Mind what, senpai?" Aiba asked, not looking up from his work.

"That Shirota-kun will have to dance around stage with another guy?"

That statement made Aiba stop to look at the junior for a moment. "...No...Why would I mind?" Aiba asked.

Kimeru stared at him in disbelief. "W-What??!" Kimeru exclaimed.

Aiba shrugged. "I trust Shirota-kun to not do anything stupid," he said. "...and I suggest that you trust Takigawa-senpai as well, Kimeru-senpai."

Kimeru frowned. "I guess you're right," he answered.

----------

"It would be good if I could get the chords from Konishi-senpai so I know which ones you should be learning..." Shirota stated as they took a break from their guitar lessons.

Takigawa tossed a water bottle over to Shirota before opening his own and drinking its contents. "I'll ask him about it tomorrow," he reassured the boy, sitting back down on the couch.

"But I'm surprised you've already gotten how to do most of the notes on your first night, Eiji-kun!" Shirota said encouragingly.

The next day passed by quickly; the day followed its usual routine with the exception of the practices for the play after classes. By the end of the day, Moriyama had announced that the next practice would be on Monday due to the fact that the script wasn't ready yet.

----------

When Thursday came along, Aiba had already thought about what to do with Shirota after school while Kimeru had asked Takigawa the day before if he could stay the night, and fortunately he was allowed to do so.

After classes that day, Aiba found himself back at the Shirota residence. "Okay...so you place your hand here…" he instructed as he placed Shirota's right hand on his waist. "…and the other one you use to hold my other hand," he said as he placed his left hand on Shirota's shoulder, not realizing that they were really close to one another. "Okay. Let's start."

A blush came upon Shirota's cheeks. "I apologize in advance if I cause you some injuries, Aibacchin," Shirota told him.

"Don't worry about it," Aiba said with a smile. "Okay...let's go...just take a few steps towards me. Left foot first," he instructed as he took a step back with his right foot.

Shirota hesitatingly took a step forward with his left foot and proceeded to do so slowly with the others.

"You're going too slow Shirota-kun…" Aiba said. "Don't hesitate…" he said as he slowly turned them towards another direction. "Don't take a double step---" he was cut off when Shirota stepped and slid his foot forward when they turned, causing Aiba to lose his balance and fall to the floor, pulling Shirota down with him. "Itai..." he said before opening his eyes which he had instinctively closed during the fall. "Are you alright, Shirota---" he was cut off when he realized how close their faces were.

The fall was almost expected. Shirota instinctively brought both palms down firmly on the ground, as well as a knee as he gritted his teeth at the pain before he opened his eyes and paused at how close they were. A blush showed itself once again as Shirota hovered over Aiba for a lingering moment before he muttered, "Gomen..." and proceeded to push himself off the other boy.

Aiba pulled himself up. "N-No it's fine," he said as he looked at Shirota. "Let's try again, shall we?"

----------

After half an hour, Shirota had managed to get the basic steps.

"Okay, Shirota-kun...now we have to get you used to some steps that you're going to use for the musical," Aiba said. "First, the dip," he said as he guided Shirota's hand that was on his waist to the small of his back. "I'm going to lean back, Shirota-kun... Try to support my weight the best you can. You have to lean forward towards me but not too much so we won't fall."

Shirota nodded as Aiba leaned back as he did everything Aiba had instructed him to do and managed to hold the pose for at least 10 seconds before pulling Aiba back upright.

----------

Takigawa was in the middle of preparing dinner - some Chicken Cheese dish -; he had just put the pre-cooked dish into the oven before he emerged from the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in about half an hour, Kimeru," he stated with a small smile.

Kimeru, who was playing with Pearl in the living room, nodded. "Hai~~" he answered.

"I wonder how Shirotan's doing with his Tango lessons..." Takigawa thought out loud.

----------

"Now for the more awkward positions," Aiba said, pausing a bit to think about the steps.

"A...Awkward?" Shirota repeated, frowning at the thought.

----------

Kimeru chuckled. "He might be blushing a lot right now," he mused.

----------

"Hai...moves like this," Aiba said as he moved them a few steps back before hooking one of his legs on Shirota's hip and placed both his hands behind the other boy's neck.

----------

"And I wouldn't be surprised if they end up kissing halfway through the lesson," Kimeru added as he looked at Takigawa.

Takigawa chuckled. "I wouldn't count on Shirota doing that just yet... Unless it was by accident," he stated, moving to Q's cage. "It's unsettling enough having Aiba teaching him how to dance..."

----------

A crimson blush came onto Shirota's face before a soft "I see" escaped his lips. '_Will you calm down Yuu? This is Aibacchin... Nothing to be bashful about...'_ he told himself firmly. _'He's teaching you to dance...'_

----------

Kimeru laughed. "That kid sure does have some self control," he said playfully.

----------

Aiba smiled. _'Good…he's taking the positions quite well,'_ he thought as he demonstrated the other positions he had to do for the musical.

After one last run-through, Aiba decided that they were done for the day. "I think that's all we can tackle for--" Aiba was cut off when a clap of thunder was heard followed by the sudden pour of heavy rain. He jumped and subconsciously took hold of Shirota's arm in surprise.

----------

Takigawa nodded. "Either that or he'd shed off all of his pride and express his feelings. But he'd usually do that with his siblings. When he's around others, he manages to control himself efficiently. In Aiba's case, we have yet to find out," he explained before checking the time. "I believe our dinner's about done," he announced before strolling back into the kitchen as the downpour of rain outside began.

----------

Shirota blinked at the sight of Aiba latching onto his arm before his attention was brought to the storm outside the window, causing him to frown. "Well, this was unexpected..." he stated.

Aiba looked out the window. "At this rate I don't think I'll be able to go back to the dorms yet..." he said.

----------

"Aiba still has his defenses up around Shirota. It would be fun to see the both of them lose the barriers for once..." Kimeru said as he looked out the window "The weather report wasn't kidding when it said that the storm would arrive tonight..." he muttered. "Hey...wait a minute...storm...Aiba at Shirota-kun's place..." he grinned when he realized something. "This might be interesting…"

----------

"I guess you can spend the night here..." Shirota offered.

"...But I didn't bring any extra clothes..." Aiba said.

"We'll make do with mine, I guess..." Shirota stated, looking Aiba over. "Though they might be a little bigger than what you're used to..." he added before checking the time. "Ah, it's about time for dinner."

Aiba sighed. "I guess it will have to do for now," he answered.

----------

Takigawa pulled the baked dish out from the stove and brought it out to the dining table. "Let's eat while it's fresh from the oven, Kimeru," he called.

"Sure!" Kimeru said as he patted Pearl before getting up and heading to the dining room. "I think Aiba will be stuck with Shirota-kun tonight...and that Shirota-kun will discover one of Aiba's well guarded secrets," he said slyly.

"Well-guarded secrets?" Takigawa repeated as he helped himself to a serving of the dish.

Kimeru nodded. "Aiba doesn't like storms," he said. "One time there was a thunderstorm outside and he almost beheaded the panda plushie he had because of how tight he was holding it...and in the middle of the night he asked me if he could sleep next to me," he grinned at the memory. "Who would have thought that Aiba had that side of him?"

----------

Shirota nodded. "I've got to get dinner started..." He looked down at Aiba's grasp on his arm. "Can you let go of my arm so I can head to the kitchen?" he asked quietly.

Aiba blinked before looking at his hands. "G-Gomen!" he said as he immediately let go of Shirota's arm. "Can I help make dinner? It's the least I can do," he offered.

A smile came across Shirota's face. "Aa," he replied before heading into the kitchen before another clap of thunder resounded outside.

Aiba jumped when he heard the thunder. _'Not good....of all the days...and I don't have my panda!'_ he thought grimly as he followed Shirota to the kitchen.

----------

Takigawa sat back down. "I'm sure Shirotan will know just what to do if he figures it out," he replied, taking a bite of the food.

Kimeru chuckled. "I'm sure he will." he said before starting to eat.

----------

Shirota looked over his shoulder. "Aibacchin..." he began as he headed to the fridge. "You're not afraid of thunderstorms, are you?"

"Of course I'm not!" Aiba said loudly before another clap of thunder was heard, this time louder than the first two, causing him to run to Shirota and latch onto his arm again. "I am! I am!! I am!!"

Shirota smiled softly, pulling Aiba into a protective embrace, rubbing the boy's back, chuckling. "It's understandable. Don't worry... I'll stay with you..."

"H-Hai....Arigatou..." Aiba said quietly and he pulled away after a few minutes. "We should get started on dinner..." he said.

Shirota nodded as they headed off to make something together. After, Shirota had led them to his room, fixed up the futon and lent Aiba some of his clothes before they retired to bed.

The next day, Shirota woke up early, knowing that his brother Jun would be returning from his bandmate's place despite the weather. He had started on breakfast before Jun came in through the door, shedding off his raincoat and closing his umbrella.

"I'm back!" Jun called. He smirked when he saw Shirota in the kitchen and moved inside. "So classes are suspended 'cause of this thunderstorm. Did you get home okay yesterday, Yuu?" he asked.

Shirota nodded as he flipped the pancake. "I got home before it began," he replied.

----------

Aiba yawned; he looked around and noticed that he wasn't in the dorms. He panicked a bit before remembering that he slept over at Shirota's place. It was still raining heavily outside and it still looked like it was evening but the clock on Shirota's desk said otherwise.

Aiba stood up to fix the futon that he slept on. He looked in the mirror and saw that he wasn't wearing his clothes either. The shorts Shirota managed to find for him were about the right size but the shirt was way too big. He sighed before deciding to head downstairs to look for Shirota. He was still a bit sleepy when he reached the foot of the stairs. He looked around and froze when he saw Shirota Jun. _'Uh oh...and I'm wearing Shirota-kun's clothes....' _he thought.

Jun nodded before turning to get his things settled before he paused, blinking at the sight of Aiba at the foot of the stairs. "Y...Yuu?"

Shirota turned from the stove as soon as he had turned off the fire. "Ha---" He paused when he saw Aiba. "Oh, I forgot to mention that Aiba-kun came over. He was helping me practice last night but he couldn't get back to his dorm so I offered that he stay the night," Shirota explained.

Aiba simply nodded and bowed politely.

Jun pointed to Aiba's clothes. "Those are yours, aren't they Yuu?" Jun inquired.

Shirota nodded. "With good reason that Aiba didn't foresee about staying over..." he replied. "Which reminds me…" He headed towards the stairs. "I can wash your clothes so you can wear them when you head back, Aibacchin..." he offered.

"Thanks Yuu-kun. I'd appreciate that," Aiba answered with a smile.

Shirota nodded. "I'd better get started on it, then," Shirota said. "You go on and have breakfast with my brother," he said as he headed upstairs.

Jun smiled as he brought the stack of pancakes Yuu had just finished making from the kitchen and set them down on the dining table. "Don't worry, I won't bite you," he reassured the younger boy as he took a seat at the table.

"Aa..." Aiba answered as he followed Jun to the dining room to join him for breakfast.

Jun watched Aiba sit down as he helped himself to a pancake and was spreading butter over it. "Ne, Aiba-kun..." he began. "Confirm something for me, would you?" he inquired off-handedly.

----------

Shirota headed to his bedroom and looked around before spotting where Aiba had neatly placed his clothes, which were resting atop his bag. The boy took them, returned downstairs and immediately went into the laundry room. It would take at least an hour or so for all of Aiba's clothes to be washed, dried and ironed, so he started with the whites and set them into the washing machine.

----------

Aiba blinked at Jun before nodding, "Sure, Jun-san..." he said.

"About you and Yuu..." Jun began, pouring syrup over his pancake now. "Are you..?"

Aiba eyes widened as he accidentally choked on what he was drinking -which was just water.

Jun grinned. "I figured as much," he replied as he cut a portion of his pancake and ate it.

Aiba just continued eating his breakfast quietly. _'.....how did he know..?'_ he thought.

"There were a few signs that made it quite clear. Coming from the both of you," Jun answered, as if reading Aiba's mind.

"Signs?" Aiba asked, looking up from his food.

"Well, on Yuu's part it was more of what he shared with me. Like when he spent half of his week's allowance on your yakiniku dinner a few weeks ago..." Jun explained.

Aiba looked at him in surprise. "H-He spent half?!" he said. "...Now I _know _I should've paid him back..." he muttered.

Jun waved a hand in front of him. "Don't bother. Once he does that on a whim, whether conscious or not, it means he considers you a special person worth paying for," he explained.

Aiba sighed. "I'm sure I'll think of some way to pay him back..." he said as he continued eating.

"Good luck with that, then," Jun chimed as Yuu appeared, taking his seat at the table.

"I'm leaving the laundry alone for a bit... I'm hungry," he reported as he took a pancake and transferred it to his plate.

Aiba nodded and smiled at Shirota as soon as he joined them. After breakfast, Aiba offered to do the dishes.

Thanking Aiba for the offer, Shirota showed Jun out to the living room. "Don't tell me you--"

"Relax. I find it pretty obvious already, so there's no point you should be bashful about admitting it. _Especially_ to me and Dai-ani," Jun interjected, patting his younger brother on the shoulder.

----------

Aiba sighed as he started washing the dishes. _'And here I thought that the class noticed because we were with them every day.... apparently not,'_ he thought.

----------

Shirota nodded wordlessly before attending to the laundry once more to finish up washing Aiba's uniform.

----------

After Aiba was done he looked around for Shirota and eventually found him in the laundry room. "You think it's going to rain all day?" he asked.

Shirota looked up from ironing Aiba's pants before returning his attention to his work before nodding. "Most probably… If the rain gets weaker, I can walk you back to your dorms," he offered as he set the iron aside and took up the pants. "These should be fine." He folded it and placed it on top of the pile of the other items of clothing that comprised Aiba's uniform before handing everything to him. "There you go," he said, smiling over to Aiba.

Aiba smiled. "Hey, thanks," he said. "I'll go change now and I'll probably return your clothes next week so that I can wash them."

Shirota nodded. "Sure," he replied as he fixed the things in the laundry room.

"I'm home!" Maria called from the front door.

Shirota paused, abandoning the iron and headed out to meet with his sister. "Why are you home this early?" he demanded.

Maria blinked, halfway from shedding off her raincoat. "What's wrong with me coming over at this time?" she asked defensively.

Aiba groaned inwardly. _'First his brother and now his sister...I better go change before someone else comes...'_ he thought as he tried to sneak upstairs.

Maria looked past Shirota before raising her eyebrows. "A-ra? Aiba-kun's here?" she inquired, spotting the boy.

Aiba froze, but instantly recovered to bow respectfully at Maria. "H-Hai...I was sort of trapped here due to the sudden rain last night." he explained.

"Ahh, I see..." Maria said, a small smile spreading on her face as she looked back to her brother. "Well, I came early because I received a text last night from tou-san."

Shirota's mouth gaped. "W...What?"

"He says he's coming over today to check up on things since he wasn't too busy with work," she explained.

Aiba looked at Shirota, then at Maria before looking back at Shirota again. "Er...maybe I should go and dress up so that I can go back to the dorms now..." he said.

"The rain won't let up," Maria informed him. "You'll have to wait until the afternoon, at least," she added before proceeding to take off her rain coat and hang it on the coat rack.

Shirota turned to Aiba and smiled. "Feel free to change, though," he told him.

Aiba went silent for a moment before looking at Shirota. "Are you sure it's okay for me to wait the rain out? I can seriously just go back to the dorms after I change," he said.

"That would ruin Yuu's efforts of washing your clothes for you," Jun offered, returning from upstairs before nodding to his older sister.

"Besides, it's still pouring outside," Maria added, gesturing to the window. "Stay for lunch, at least," she offered.

Shirota grinned. "You might even get to meet my father..." he said carefully.

Aiba thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I guess that's okay..." he said before looking at his clothes. "I'll go change, please excuse me," he said before heading upstairs to change.

The three siblings watched Aiba head off before Maria took her youngest brother by the arms. "Have the two of you--"

"Technically speaking..." Yuu interjected.

"They have!" Jun declared, walking up to them with a grin on his face.

"Oi, don't go to conclusions like--" Yuu began to argue.

"It's true, isn't it?" Jun cut him off effectively, leaving Yuu to blush, looking away from both his older siblings in the process.

----------

Aiba sighed as he finished putting on his school uniform. He decided to leave out the necktie and blazer before looking at himself in the mirror. "This would have to do…" he said before going back downstairs.

----------

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT WAS ALL WE DID!!" Yuu bellowed. "Now untie me from this chair!" he demanded. Jun had decided to tie Yuu down to a chair again, this time with a few sets of jump ropes - which were kept away in the closet for reasons even Yuu did not understand.

"Why don't I believe you?" Jun inquired, grinning as he messed up the boy's hair.

"I already told you... I'm part of the school play this quarter... And I'm supposed to know how to do the Tango and Aibacchin offered to teach me... Nothing out of line happened, if that's what you're curious about!" Yuu explained.

"Er....." Aiba said when he saw the scene.

Both Yuu and Jun turned to Aiba before the latter grinned, turning back to his brother. "Fine, I'll believe you this time," he stated, moving to undo the ropes tying Yuu to the chair. "Just because you keep insisting that you didn't do anything..."

Once Jun had undone the ropes, he gathered them up and returned them to their rightful place. Yuu stayed on the chair a few minutes longer, heaving a huge sigh before bringing a hand to his face.

Aiba walked up to Shirota. "Are you okay?" he asked him.

Shirota nodded. "Aa... Call that his way of interviewing me..." he explained quietly.

Aiba frowned. "Interviewing or interrogating?" he asked before sighing. "In any case...I heard some of the things he was asking...I wonder why he assumed that we did something.... inappropriate for the moment," he said.

Shirota chuckled. "Interrogating might be a better term with the style he uses..." he admitted. "But he's been under the assumption that something is going on between us... Which was why he knows about the dinner we had together..."

"And by saying 'something' what do you mean exactly?" Aiba asked.

Shirota got to his feet slowly. "I think that's obvious enough..." he muttered with a small smile before moving past Aiba and heading to the stairs. "I'll just go and change," he announced.

Aiba felt himself blush a bit upon realization. "Oh..." he said before Shirota went upstairs. He looked at the chair where Shirota was tied down to a few minutes ago before deciding to sit on the couch to just watch the rain pour.

----------

Shirota returned downstairs minutes later in casual attire that included jeans and a white sweater. He spotted Aiba and joined him on the couch. "Ne, did you want to do anything besides watching the rain?" he inquired with a grin.

Aiba looked at him and grinned back. "Of course I do. It's just that nothing has come to mind yet," he said as he faced Shirota.

"You could help me with the song," Shirota offered, pulling out the lyrics.

"That could work," Aiba said as he looked over. "So which one would you want to try? You have two songs that you have to take part in…" he said.

"The duet..." Shirota replied. "Better to know the song now before I mix it with the dance..." he explained.

Aiba nodded as he looked at the lyrics. "So I'll do Joanne and you do your part....." he said. "Don't laugh at me ok? I don't have a good singing voice."

Shirota chuckled. "I won't fault you for that, I swear," he promised.

"Then let's get started..." Aiba started before singing Joanne's part.

----------

After doing the song Aiba smiled, "Looks like you got it in one try," he said.

Shirota brought his fingers to his throat. "It pays to watch the original, then," he said with a nervous chuckle.

Aiba smiled. "I was able to watch the play with my sister before and I have to admit, it was a good play," he said. "Which reminds me....about Kimeru-senpai…he seems uncomfortable with the character list." he said.

"Is it because Eiji-kun's doing Roger?" Shirota inquired with a frown.

"Maybe....by the looks of it, Kimeru-senpai is jealous..." Aiba said.

"Ahh... That's probably because he's paired up with Yanagi," Shirota explained with a shrug before he turned to Aiba. "What about you..?"

Aiba looked at him and smiled. "I don't mind. It's just a play anyway," he said. "Unless....I have a reason to be jealous?" he asked.

Shirota shook his head. "No, you don't..." he replied with a contented smile.

"Yuu! Aiba-kun! Lunch is on the table!" Maria called.

Shirota got to his feet. "Well, that was productive. Maria-neesan just reminded me how hungry I am now," he said, grinning.

Aiba chuckled. "Glad to hear it," he said before they were called to lunch.

During lunch, the three Shirota siblings and Aiba were enjoying a meal prepared by Maria before the doorbell rang. Jun got up from the table, excusing himself before he went to answer it. Upon opening the door, he stepped back in surprise. "T...Tou-san?!" he exclaimed.

Shirota Mitsuo smiled as he closed his umbrella and stepped inside. "That's not a nice way to greet me, Jun. After all, I _did_ tell Maria that I was coming today," he replied in mock hurt as he stepped past his second son, handing him the umbrella.

Both Yuu and Maria got to their feet and bowed, the latter of the two rising from the table and approaching their father. "I hope you didn't have any trouble, tou-san?" she inquired.

Aiba turned around and saw Shirota's father enter. He was a bit unsure of what to do so he decided to stand up as well when Yuu and Maria did.

Mitsuo shook his head. "The only problem I had was braving this storm," he commented as he turned to the table. "Ahh, I see we have a guest!"

Shirota gestured to Aiba. "This is my classmate Aiba Hiroki," he introduced.

"Pleased to meet you," Aiba said as he smiled and bowed politely.

"Yuu's classmate, huh?" Mitsuo repeated, nodding curtly to the boy.

"We've just started on lunch, tou-san. I'll go and get you a plate," Maria announced, rushing into the kitchen.

Shirota sat back down as Mitsuo joined them at the head of the table as Maria placed a plate and some utensils for him to use before re-taking her seat.

Aiba sat back down and turned his attention back to his food.

All was quiet during lunch. Nobody spoke much and before they knew it, Maria had offered to do the dishes and was clearing the table.

Mitsuo turned to Aiba and his youngest son. "So Yuu, what brings... Aiba, was it?" Shirota nodded. "What brings Aiba over?"

"He slept over last night..." Shirota explained. "He was helping me out with a few things for the school's upcoming musical..."

Aiba nodded to this and added. "Yuu-kun has been selected to play a lead role in the musical," he said.

Mitsuo smirked. "Good for you then, Yuu!" he complimented.

Shirota nodded. "Arigatou, tou-san..." he thanked, nodding to him as he rose to his feet. "If you would excuse us, there are a few things we need to rehearse upstairs," he announced.

Mitsuo nodded. "Of course, of course, go ahead."

Aiba bowed once more before heading upstairs with Shirota. He sighed before sitting on the bed. "What do you want to rehearse?" he asked.

Shirota locked the door behind him as they reached his room. "The dance," he answered.

"Okay," Aiba said as he got to his feet and approached Shirota. "Let's see if we can have one whole run-through of it," he said with a smile as he placed his hand on Shirota's shoulder, the other taking hold of the taller boy's hand.

"After things went last night, I'm pretty sure I get the steps now," Shirota said with a grin, getting into position.

Aiba nodded. "Let's start then, Shirota-kun..." he said as they started the routine.

To Shirota's surprise, he found himself able to keep up with Aiba throughout the routine. When everything was through Shirota was lying on the ground as he let out a sigh of relief, pumping a fist into the air. "Yosh!" he cheered.

Aiba clapped his hands as he smiled. "Good Job, Shirota-kun," he said.

Shirota pushed himself to sit up and gave Aiba a thumbs-up. "Thanks for all your hard work, Aibacchin," he said, grinning.

"You're a quick learner," Aiba said with a smile as he looked out the window. "Oh look…the rain is letting up. I think I can head back to the dorms now."

Shirota followed his gaze to the window and nodded before he got to his feet. "Alright, I'll walk you," Shirota said as he moved to the door and unlocked it. Pulling the door open, he jumped back in surprise to see his father there. "T...Tou-san! What are you--"

Shirota Mitsuo grinned and pulled his youngest son into a headlock, messing up the boy's hair. "You could've told me sooner that you were with him!" he said happily.

Shirota blinked. "E...Eh?!" he stuttered.

"Jun told me about it earlier when I asked about you," Mitsuo explained.

_'Jun-ani...'_ Shirota thought darkly.

Aiba felt himself blush when he heard this, he quickly turned around to fuss with his bag so that none of the two Shirota's would see him flustered.

Mitsuo turned to Aiba and smiled before releasing his grip on his son. "I apologize for this sudden outburst, Aiba-kun," he said, nodding to him. "I just don't come home to this kind of news very often."

"I would have told you eventually..." Shirota commented.

Aiba turned around and smiled nervously. "Aa...it's alright, Shirota-san…" he said.

Mitsuo smirked before his phone rang. "Excuse me..." He pulled out his phone and read the text before groaning, stepping back out into the hall.

Shirota sighed. "I knew I should've told Jun-ani to keep his mouth shut... Not that he'd listen to me, though..." he said hopelessly.

Aiba chuckled as he took his bag and patted Shirota on the shoulder. "I'm a bit surprised that your family is taking this well...then again, it's a good thing, ne?" he said.

Shirota nodded. "Aa. Shall we go?" he offered, moving out of the room, bowing to his father as they passed before heading downstairs.

As soon as they reached the door, Aiba pulled out his umbrella. "Don't bother yourself with going outside Shirota-kun," he said with a smile before opening the door. "I'll see you tomorrow then.." he said before looking around once; he saw that no one was there so he kissed Shirota on the cheek before hurriedly walking outside. "Ja ne!" he called out as he opened his umbrella and went his way.

Shirota blinked; Aiba's kiss stunned him into shocked silence until Aiba walked out into the rain before he regained himself, shaking his head and called out. "IT'S SATURDAY TOMORROW!!" he reminded the boy.

Aiba frowned. "BAKA! YOU'RE HELPING ME MOVE BACK IN!!" he yelled over his shoulder before speeding up a bit. _'Stupid idiot....'_ he thought with a frown; then he remembered what he did a few moments ago that might have caused the boy to space out. Aiba smirked.

Shirota blushed before smacking himself lightly on the forehead. _'That's right... I can't believe I forgot that so easily...'_ he scolded himself.

Aiba paused a bit to catch his breath as he turned around a corner. "Oi!! Aiba!!" he heard someone call out. He looked around and saw Kimeru walking towards him.

"Heading back to the dorms?" the junior asked.

Aiba nodded. "Hai. And you?" Kimeru nodded as well. "Let's go then!"

Kimeru blinked. _'Is it me...or is he a bit...too happy,'_ he thought.

Shirota closed the door behind him before the phone rang. "I'll get it!" he announced to the house as he took the phone and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

_"Is Aiba still there?"_ Takigawa inquired.

"Ah, Eiji-kun!" Shirota replied cheerfully. "No, he just left. Why?"

_"No reason. Kimeru just left here himself. At least they can accompany each other back to the dorms without trouble,"_ Takigawa explained.

"I see..."

----------

As soon as Aiba got back to the dorms, he lied back on his bed and took the panda plushie that was on it.

"Too bad that you didn't bring it with you yesterday," Kimeru teased.

"That's okay...Shirota-kun was there anyway," Aiba answered.

Kimeru stared at him. "Alright...who are you and what did you do to Aiba?" he asked.

Aiba rolled his eyes. "Whatever senpai..."

----------

_"I've got a serious question to ask you, Shirotan,"_ Takigawa continued.

"What?"

_"Has anything more than a hug been exchanged between you and Aiba?"_ Shirota blushed for five seconds before Takigawa laughed. _"I guess silence means yes?"_

----------

"Oi, Aiba...you seem happy," Kimeru said.

"Way to point out the obvious, senpai," Aiba said as he turned his back on Kimeru.

Kimeru threw a pillow at him. "Spill! What happened between you and Shirota at his place?" he asked.

Aiba glanced at him. "Nothing...I just taught him how to tango," he answered.

"That's all?" Kimeru asked. "How about before you left?"

Aiba shrugged. "I kissed him..."

"I KNEW--"

"…on the cheek."

"WHAT?!"

The next day, Shirota headed out after breakfast and made his way to the dorms to meet up with Aiba. Once he climbed the five flights of stairs, he knocked on the door. "AIBACCHIN!" he called.

Kimeru pulled open the door in annoyance. "Quiet! Your voice is loud enough to wake the dead!!" he said in irritation.

"I.e. You, Kimeru-senpai," Aiba said as Kimeru got out of the way. "Thanks for coming early, Shirota-kun," he said with a smile.

Shirota nodded. "No problem. I had to sneak out before my dad could ask any questions about it, though," he said, scratching his cheek.

"Sou ka..." Aiba said as he took one of the two boxes near the door. "Here Shirota-kun...you can carry this," he said as he took another another box after taking his back pack. "There we go...I'll see you then, Kimeru-senpai," Aiba said with a slight bow.

Kimeru yawned before looking at him. "Sure whatever...though don't count on the fact that since we don't stay in one room anymore I'll stop annoying you," he said.

Aiba grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, senpai...besides, you'll be moving out in a few days as well, right?"

Kimeru smiled. "Aa…"

Shirota furrowed his brows as he took the box and looked between Kimeru and Aiba. "Eh?"

"Remember back in the auditorium?" Aiba asked Shirota. "Kimeru-senpai will be staying with Takigawa-senpai from now on and it would seem that they have agreed on starting next week," he explained.

"Ah, that's right..." Shirota said before pausing. "But that means..." He frowned, deciding to head to the stairs in awkward silence.

"I'll see you around then, senpai," Aiba said as he caught up with Shirota.

Kimeru shook his head before closing the door once Aiba stepped out.

Aiba walked beside Shirota and looked at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Shirota shook his head. "It's nothing," he reassured him.

Aiba frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Shirota nodded again. "Aa. I can always talk to Eiji-kun about it, anyway... About that..." he said off-handedly.

"Okay then....." Aiba said, not forcing the issue. "Hinako-neesan said that mother's preparing something for you at home…" he said.

Shirota chuckled. "Your mother seems to have found my weakness," he mused.

Aiba grinned. "Mother's good with people because of that....look how she manages to manipulate my father."

Shirota laughed. "I've noticed," he pointed out.

Aiba smiled as they headed to his place.

----------

Upon arrival, Hinako immediately ushered them inside. "We were waiting for you!" she said happily.

Shirota smiled to himself as he entered the house. He bowed politely as he spotted the parents and looked over to Aiba. "Ne, where do you want me to put this, Aibacchin?" he inquired.

"Let's put it in my room," Aiba said with a nod. "We'll just be upstairs!" he told his parents as he led Shirota to his room. He managed to open the door and moved aside to let Shirota in. "Come on in."

Shirota entered the room and set the box down by the cabinet before looking around. "Heh... Your room's pretty big..." he pointed out.

Aiba closed the door behind him and placed the box, along with his backpack beside the bed. "If you think this is big, you should see my sister's room," he said as he sat on the bed. "I've missed this," he said before lying down and taking one of his pillows. "Wanna join me here? It's soft," he said, grinning like a child.

Shirota chuckled, nodding as he approached the bed. "You take after your mother bribing me with these sorts of things," Shirota accused.

Aiba smirked. "Something bad about that?" he teased as he threw a pillow at Shirota.

Shirota caught the pillow and shook his head. "Not really."

Aiba grinned before moving to a sitting position on the bed. "Let's see...knowing my mother, she'll call us down for something in about 15 minutes or so..." he said. "So what do you want to do until then?"

"That's difficult to answer since we're in your house, Aibacchin..." Shirota admitted.

"We could play some games on my computer," Aiba said as he pointed at his desktop. "Or anything that might catch your interest in my room."

Shirota looked around. "A-re?" he slowly got to his feet and approached Aiba's desk.

"Ever heard of a magic eight ball?" Aiba asked as he went over his desk and picked up something pink and round.

Shirota nodded. "Never really used it before, though..." he said.

"Nee-san gave this to me before school started. It's called a date ball," he said. "She seems to think of it as a practical joke," he added as he turned the ball over. "You're supposed to ask a question concerning relationships and then it answers." He looked at the ball and shook it. "For example...will Takigawa-senpai and Kimeru-senpai eventually end up together after they graduate?" he asked the ball before turning it so that the little transparent part was facing upwards.

What appeared on the small window was a triangular object that had the words "Absolutely!" on it with a little heart at the bottom.

"You try," Aiba said as he handed Shirota the pink object.

Shirota took the ball and shook it. "Will Moriyama-senpai end up with someone in the future?" he inquired randomly before watching the triangular object flash "It's looking good" with a little heart at the bottom. He chuckled to himself.

Aiba grinned. "Is it Yanagi-kun?" he asked as he took the ball and shook it. "Why not?" Aiba read out loud as he smirked.

Shirota glanced over to Aiba. "You picked that up or was that just a guess?" he inquired sheepishly.

"I knew the looks that they were giving each other during the practices," Aiba said with a smile. "It was pretty clear that they were interested in one another in my perspective of things."

"So I wasn't the only one who noticed," Shirota said, grinning.

Aiba nodded. "That's why Takigawa-senpai should be ready when Moriyama-senpai decides to do something about it," he said with a grin. "Let's see...." he said as he looked around. "We still have about 10 minutes..." he said.

"I'm sure Eiji-kun's noticed it by now. He spends a lot more time with Moriyama-senpai than I do, anyway," Shirota explained before remembering the boxes. "So do you need help unpacking?" he suggested.

Aiba thought for a moment. "Nah, I can take care of those later." _'...after all I can't let you find out that almost half of those stuff is connected to you,'_ he added in his mind.

Shirota nodded. "Okay..." he said before turning to the door.

"Hiro~~ mother wants you and Shirota-kun to come down for a while~" Hinako said from outside.

Aiba blinked. "That was...against my calculations, but oh well."

Shirota nodded to himself before turning to Aiba. "Looks like you were wrong," he pointed out with a grin.

"I guess so..." Aiba said as he opened the door, only to yelp in surprise as his sister came in and locked the door behind her.

"So....?" she asked the two.

Hiroki took a few steps back. "So...what?!" he asked.

"Are the two of you together?" she asked with a grin as Hiroki turned beet red.

Shirota nodded. "Aa," he replied bluntly.

"I knew it!! I'm going to go and tell mom~" Hinako said before going out, leaving Aiba to stand in shock.

"What did-- OI! NEE-SAN!! MATTE!!" he yelled as he ran out the door to stop his sister.

Shirota chuckled, following after the siblings as he closed the door to Aiba's room.

Hiroki chased his sister to the gardens while his mother came out from the kitchen. "Congratulations Shirota-kun," she said as soon as she saw Shirota. "Why don't you sit down while those two have a bonding moment?"

"WE'RE NOT BONDING!" Hiroki yelled as he passed by the window.

Shirota nodded. "Aa. Arigatou," he replied politely, bowing before he took a seat at one of the garden chairs.

After a while, Hiroki stopped chasing his sister and went to sit on the chair beside Shirota, "Sorry about that...nee-san just gets into my nerves sometimes..." he said.

"Not my fault that you are easily annoyed, little brother," Hinako said with a smile.

"Enough you two...we have a guest," Mikoto reminded them.

"Hai..." they both answered.

"Here, why don't you have something to eat while you tell us the story of how you managed to convince our Hiroki to see things in your perspective?" Mikoto said as he placed a plate full of brownies on one of the tables.

Shirota's eyes lit up at the sight of the brownies and took one. "Arigatou! Itadakimasu!" he said, taking a bite out of the brownie, chewing it fondly.

Mikoto smiled as Shirota ate some of her handmade brownies.

"So what happened?" Hinako asked.

Hiroki sighed before telling them the story.

"Aww...that's so sweet, Shirota-kun!" Hinako said as soon as Hiroki told them about that little encounter at the rooftop.

Hiroki smiled at Shirota fondly. "Aa...that was the moment he managed to change my mind," he said.

Shirota smiled lightly. "I'm glad you got to talk to your father about that, Aibacchin..." he said as he took another brownie.

"That's because I knew you would be behind me all the way," Aiba said with a smile.

Hinako chuckled. "But still, Shirota-kun... Thank you for confronting Hiroki like that. If you didn't do it then he may still be at the dorms right now."

"He might've still been afraid to show himself and be the serious type he's made himself to be in school..." Shirota said, shuddering before he smirked over to Hiroki.

"An image which I would still have to maintain," Hiroki said as he took a bite off a brownie.

Shirota slapped the boy on the arm. "No you don't!" he complained.

Hiroki looked at him. "I was just kidding!" he said.

Hinako chuckled as she patted his brother on the head. "You two are sure are cute," she said before standing up. "I'll just be upstairs. I have a paper to finish," she told them.

"Hai nee-san…"

Shirota nodded to Hinako before reaching out for a brownie before he found the plate to be empty as he looked at it. "Ahh! You got the last brownie!" Shirota accused, glaring over to Hiroki darkly.

"Don't worry, Shirota-kun. We have a fresh baked chocolate cake in the fridge since I noticed that you liked the one before," Mikoto said as she stood. "I'll go bring some."

Hiroki stared at his mother as she left before turning his gaze to Shirota. "My mother...seems to enjoy spoiling you…" he said.

"I might not be able to leave at the rate this is going," Shirota whispered to Hiroki as the cake was brought out, causing the boy to grin. "Lucky~" he said.

Mikoto smiled. "At least you have something rather than Hiroki as an incentive to come here, right Shirota-kun?" she said as she handed Shirota a slice of the cake.

----------

After a while, the sun had started to set. The two were back in Hiroki's room, lying down on the bed to pass the time.

Shirota checked his watch before sitting up. "Yabe!!" he exclaimed, getting to his feet. "Gomen Aibacchin, but I have to be heading back home," he said hastily.

Aiba looked at the clock and saw up as well, "Alright...come on, I'll walk with you down the street," he said with a smile before leading him downstairs where his mother and sister said their goodbyes to Shirota.

"It's fine, I can make it on my own," Shirota said as they reached the gate, holding Aiba back, nodding over to him. "Enjoy your time with your family..." he added, smiling softly.

Aiba smiled back. "I'll see you on Monday, then..." he said. "...and Shirota-kun....thanks."

Shirota nodded, hesitating for a moment and leaned forward, kissing Aiba on the lips for what seemed like three seconds before he quickly pulled away. He bowed and headed off. "Ja~"

Aiba stood there stunned for a few seconds after Shirota had left, his hand moving up to touch his lips. _'F...First Kiss....'_ was all his mind managed to process before stepping back to close the door. He marched up the stairs like a zombie and went straight to his room, causing his mother and father, who were at the den, to look at one another before shrugging.

----------

Shirota jogged on his way back to his house. _'Did I really..?'_ he asked himself, shaking his head furiously. _'I did... And I don't regret it!'_ he told himself firmly before grinning, sprinting off the rest of the way. By the time he got back to his house, his father, he found out, was called away back to work while his mother, Rina and Jun were there for dinner joining him and Maria.

----------

"..AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY YOU WERE THE ONE I DECIDED TO CALL ABOUT IT!!" Aiba said into the speaker.

Kimeru was holding his phone an arm's length away from his ear. "That's what I wanted to know..." he muttered before placing the phone near his ear. "Listen, you have to calm down...you're treating this like he passed on some sort of disease on you..." he said.

"I am calm!!" Aiba insisted, his voice a lot less loud than before.

Kimeru sighed. "Look, if you really want to know what happens next you have to wait until Monday. Now leave me alone," he said before ending the call.

----------

Shirota finished any of his unfinished assignments after dinner in his room before leaning back, turning around in his swivel chair before he went to his bed and lied down, exhausted. "What to do..." he muttered onto the blanket.

Monday came along and despite the fact that he lived a little farther, Aiba still managed to get to school in time.

----------

Fifth period, the class before lunch. It was English for section one of the first years, the class that Ueshima-sensei taught.

Aiba was doodling in his notebook as he listened to Ueshima-sensei lecture on about Roman Mythologies. He then noticed a sudden movement by the edge of his desk and he froze. _'Please don't let it be.....'_ he thought as he looked at it.

A medium-sized spider crawled up to his notebook.

Aiba's eyes went wide. "Ahh!" He jumped out of his seat and instinctively went behind Shirota.

Ueshima-sensei paused in mid-lecture at the sudden scream from the back of the classroom, all eyes averting to Aiba, who had jumped out of his seat. "What's wrong, Aiba?" he called from the front of the class.

Shirota looked over his shoulder to the boy before his eyes returned to the desk and pointed at the insect on Aiba's notebook. "You're afraid of spiders?" he inquired.

Aiba looked at the creature on his notebook before nodding slowly. "Hated them and had been afraid of them since I was 5," he said quickly.

"Well, I learned something new today..." Shirota said brightly before standing, moving to the cabinet and pulled out an empty jar they normally used for art class and unscrewed the cap, heading back to Aiba's desk and forced the jar over the spider, sliding it to the edge and quickly closed the jar once more. "There we go, problem solved," he announced, bowing to Ueshima-sensei before leaving the room momentarily to bring the spider to a different location.

Aiba sighed in relief once Shirota went out with the spider; that was when he noticed that everyone was looking at him. "A-no...gomen!" he said with a bow before returning to his seat.

Ueshima grinned. "It's fine, it's fine. Saa, back to the lesson~" he said, averting his gaze to the book in his hand as Shirota returned to the room and took his seat.

----------

After classes, it was once again time for practices, the scripts were handed out to the characters and even Aiba managed to get a copy for reference use on his article. He was reading the script when something Shiozawa was saying to Takumi and Kazuki caught his attention.

"Wait! You can't do it like that!" Shiozawa said as he walked over to the two. "You're supposed to look at each other during this instrumental and there should be some sort of chemistry!" he explained.

"How do we do that?" Kazuki asked getting annoyed at the 6th interruption for that certain scene.

Shiozawa walked over to the table where Takumi was. "You should look at him with intensity not like he just walked in the room. And you!" he said as he went over to Kazuki. "You don't just walk inside the room like you're walking in the park…add something there that would cause some chemistry!"

Kazuki frowned. "You're confusing me..." he said.

Shiozawa thought for a moment. "We need someone to show you...some people who have natural chemistry...aha! Shirota-kun! Aiba-kun! Would you two please come here for a second and show these two how it's done?"

"What?!" Aiba exclaimed as he stared at Shiozawa.

Shirota, who was practicing a song on his own, paused as he turned to Shiozawa, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

Shiozawa grinned. "I want you two to show Kazuki and Takumi-senpai how this scene would be done in your perspective."

Aiba frowned. "You're telling us to show these two _drama club members_ how to do a proper scene?" he asked.

"Exactly," Shiozawa replied.

Shirota glanced over to Aiba, lowering his lyrics. "You can't be serious..." he said, looking back over to Shiozawa.

Shiozawa smirked. "I'm afraid I am...now go," he said as he nodded at Aiba who looked at Shirota as if asking him what to do.

Shirota heaved a deep sigh and set his lyrics down and approached the stage, nodding over to Aiba. _'The sooner we get this over with, the better...' _he thought to himself.

Aiba frowned as he went up on stage. "I'm not part of the cast...." he muttered darkly.

Yagami watched from the sidelines. "Shiozawa-kun is doing this on purpose, isn't he?" he asked Moriyama.

Moriyama chuckled. "Maybe," he replied bluntly.

Takigawa and Yanagi, who were off-stage practicing their duet, paused when Shirota and Aiba were called on-stage. Takigawa stepped out onto the wing of the stage and raised an eyebrow. _'Is it just me, or...'_

Shirota patted Aiba on the shoulder. "Don't mind it. As long as we get things over with here, you can get back to your work, na?" he said before turning to Shiozawa. "Now what did you want us to do exactly?"

"Just the part where Maureen and Joanne are inside the billiards room," Shizoawa said as he led Aiba to a space near the billiards table and then placed Shirota by the door.

"Aiba-kun, you're Maureen for a while and Shirota-kun, Joanne."

"I have to jump on the billiards table?!" Aiba exclaimed.

Shiozawa nodded. "Hai...now you better watch closely, Takumi-senpai, Kazuki-kun," he said to the two who were smirking just behind them. "Music!"

After Shirota and Aiba did the scene, the music ended as Shirota heaved a huge sigh, bending over. "Is that enough for you, Shiozawa-kun?" he inquired, looking over to him.

Shiozawa nodded. "Better than expected," he said with a thumbs-up. "Did you two get that?" he asked Kazuki and Takumi who nodded, smirk still in place.

"I never knew that you could move like that, Aiba-kun," Kazuki said as he patted Aiba on the shoulder. Aiba frowned before going back to his seat.

Shirota nodded wordlessly before getting off-stage and went to retrieve his lyrics.

----------

Takigawa and Yanagi looked at each other, smirking.

"Takigawa-senpai, they're--"

Takigawa nodded. "Aa. They are."

----------

After a while Moriyama caught the attention of the others. "For the last part of today's practice I would like to see the progress of the characters and their songs," he said.

"First up, let's see Tango Maureen!"

Aiba smiled at Shirota and gave him the thumbs-up sign. "Gambatte~" he said.

Shirota approached the stage and returned the gesture to Aiba before he joined Kazuki on stage.

"I don't want to get my foot stepped on, Shirota-kun," Kazuki warned as he went to take his place on one side of the stage.

Shirota nodded. "Don't worry. I can assure you it won't happen," Shirota replied, heading to the other side.

"Start!" Moriyama called.

"Looks like you taught him well, Aiba-kun," Moriyama said as he took a seat beside Aiba to watch.

Aiba shrugged. "He's a fast learner so it was easy."

Moriyama grinned as the dance progressed to the more awkward movements. "You even taught him _that_ move?" he asked and Aiba nodded.

When the song ended, Kazuki nodded curtly to Shirota. "Not bad for a first-timer," he complimented before heading off-stage.

Shirota sighed with relief as he looked over to Aiba and grinned at him before getting down from the stage.

"Nice job. You looked great up there," Aiba said with a smile.

Moriyama stood up and approached Toru who announced the next pair. "Next is Light my Candle," he announced.

Kimeru, who was talking with the rest of the band heard this and turned his gaze sharply towards Yanagi.

Takigawa patted Yanagi on the shoulder as they took center stage. "Remember what I told you earlier, Yanagi-kun?" he inquired.

Yanagi nodded. "Aa. I'll try, but I won't guarantee I won't be bothered..." he replied.

Toru brought a hand up. "Start!"

As the song started Aiba felt a strange aura fill the auditorium. "That....that's coming from Kimeru-senpai, isn't it?" he asked as he looked at the band vocalist near the side of the stage.

Shirota moved to Kimeru and put a hand on the junior's shoulder. "Mah, there's nothing to get jealous over," he said quietly as the song progressed.

"Who told you I'm jealous? I'm not jealous…" Kimeru hissed as he looked at Yanagi moving around the stage.

Shirota chuckled. "Frankly, there's no need to be jealous. You know Ei--Takigawa-senpai already declared his feelings for you, and he wouldn't throw that away," he explained. "Besides... Yanagi-kun may very well have someone special as well. Both of them are treating this as _just_ a musical where they ended up being partnered up. That's all."

Kimeru took a deep breath and counted to ten before exhaling. "You're right..." he told Shirota. "I'll try to calm down," he said slowly, turning his gaze away from the two on the stage.

After the song, Moriyama announced their schedule for the coming weeks before dismissing them.

Shirota continued practicing the guitar with Takigawa until the latter was able to play the song on his own. It didn't take long before the musical reached the dress rehearsal a few days before the actual presentation. The group gathered in the auditorium as Moriyama took center stage.

"Okay, we're only two days away from actual show time. This dress rehearsal is a dry-run of the musical from start to finish. Any mistakes can be overlooked for now, but I urge you all to do your best and act as though this is the real thing!" he began.

"Aiba-kun, please don't forget to take pictures," Yagami instructed as he patted Aiba on the shoulder.

"Hai senpai," Aiba answered as he adjusted the lens of the camera.

Kimeru nodded to the band. "All we have to do today is watch. The recorded version of the songs is already at the sound booth," he said.

Nagayan grinned. "But in case something goes wrong, we better be ready, right?"

"Aa," Kimeru answered.

"Alright, let's get started!" Moriyama announced; heading off-stage as the dress rehearsal began.

Aiba took pictures every now and then as the cast and crew moved around. He even managed to take a picture of the band club watching. After the dress rehearsal, Aiba headed to the backstage to look for Shirota. "Shirota-kun~" he called out from the door.

----------

Kimeru, in the meantime, was talking to Moriyama about something on stage as he waited for Takigawa.

----------

Shirota popped his head out from the dressing room with his prop glasses still on. "Give me a second, Aibacchin. I need to change back to my uniform," he informed him.

"Okay, I'll just wait for you here..." Aiba said as he closed the door.

----------

"Don't worry, Moriyama-senpai...everything is going to be fine...besides...you've been waiting to ask him out for a while, haven't you?" Kimeru asked slyly.

Takigawa and Yanagi came out onstage talking about their duet before they saw Kimeru and Moriyama. The freshman had a particular blush on his cheeks as Takigawa smiled, patting him on the shoulder before nodding to Kimeru. "Shall we head off, Kimeru?" he inquired.

Kimeru patted Moriyama on the back. "Good luck senpai~" he said before running up to Takigawa and Yanagi. "Oi, Yanagi-kun... Moriyama-senpai wants to talk to you about something," he said with a grin.

----------

Shirota emerged from the dressing room, flashing a thumbs-up. "Yosh! Change complete!" he proclaimed, the glasses still on.

Aiba chuckled. "Not really. You're still Mark," he said as he pointed at the glasses.

Shirota blinked. "AHHH!" He pulled off the glasses and hastily took out the case and kept it in his back pocket. "There!"

Aiba grinned. "Now that's my Shirota-kun," he said.

----------

Takigawa nodded to his senpai before leaving the two alone and heading off with

Kimeru. "Saa, what should we be having for dinner?" he inquired.

"Don't really know...wanna try eating out for once?" Kimeru asked him as they left the auditorium.

Takigawa contemplated about it for a moment before nodding. "I don't mind. I'm fresh out of ideas for tonight, anyway," he admitted.

"So where do you want to go?" Kimeru asked.

----------

Shirota grabbed Aiba by the hand and whizzed down the aisle of the auditorium and out. "Let's celebrate and have dinner somewhere!" he said brightly.

"Sounds good to me," Aiba said with a smile.

"I was thinking--"

"Somewhere with--" Takigawa began.

Both Takigawa and Shirota paused before they noticed each other's presence; Takigawa and Kimeru were just a little ahead of Shirota and Aiba as they were leaving the school grounds.

"Are you two going out for dinner?" they asked each other.

"Ko-ra, I asked you first!" Shirota complained.

"No you didn't!" Takigawa fired back.

Aiba and Kimeru looked at one another and shrugged. "So Aiba?" Kimeru started.

Aiba thought for a moment. "Italian?" he suggested.

Shirota grinned, turning to Aiba. "I second the motion!" he said brightly.

Takigawa stumbled before shrugging. "We're splitting the bill on this one, then," he announced, looking over to Shirota. "Somebody here might end up ordering more than anybody..."

Shirota pouted and turned to Takigawa. "I can budget my allowance for this, thank you very much!" he said defensively.

"I can shoulder his part of the bill," Aiba offered as he raised his hand.

Shirota turned to Aiba. "Ehh? You don't have to, Aibacchin. I don't plan on spending much tonight..." he said hastily.

Takigawa started walking again. "As long as the bill is paid, there aren't any problems," he said. "Ikuyo, Kimeru~"

"I'm paying your part of the bill," Aiba said firmly as he looked at Shirota.

Kimeru chuckled. "Recently got your allowance, have you?" he teased.

Shirota pouted but decided not to argue any further.

----------

As soon as they reached the restaurant and seated, Aiba looked at his menu. "What do you want, Shirota-kun?" he asked.

Shirota looked at the menu in high regard. "Some pasta would be nice," he stated, pointing to the particular dish.

Takigawa, in the meantime, was checking out the salads and pizza. "Anything interesting caught your eye, Kimeru?" he inquired.

Kimeru looked at the menu. "I...can't...decide..." he said. "You pick for me," he answered.

Aiba put down his menu and looked at the three. "I know what I'm ordering..." he said.

"And that would be?" Shirota inquired as Takigawa placed a few orders to their waiter.

"Just a simple, carbonara..." Aiba answered as he placed his order. "My parents are coming for the play…" Aiba added randomly.

Shirota placed his order of chicken salad and a small pizza before the waiter left. "Eh? Your parents?" Shirota repeated.

"Aa....for some reason they wanted to watch you," Aiba said with a shrug.

Shirota blinked before pulling out the prop glasses and putting them on. "I would understand your mother coming to watch, but your father?" he inquired, using a different voice that he'd be using for Mark.

"My mother convinced him to come along," Aiba reasoned.

"Well, that answers a lot..." Shirota replied coolly.

Takigawa smiled. "Are any of your siblings coming to watch, Shirotan?" he inquired.

Shirota pulled off his prop glasses. "My mom, Maria-nesan, Rina and Jun-ani, for sure," he replied.

Kimeru then looked at Takigawa after he had placed his order. "How about you, Takigawa? Are your parents coming?" he asked.

Takigawa shook his head. "They're still abroad. Last I heard from them, they were in France," he explained. "It's very rare for them to be coming home to visit..."

Kimeru thought for a moment before smiling. "Don't worry then~ Aiba and I will still be watching, right?" he said as he winked at the younger boy.

Aiba blinked. "Of course I'm watching...I need to cover it for the paper…" he said.

"So does that mean that if you're not going to cover it you're not going to watch?" Kimeru asked slyly.

Aiba glared at him. "Of course not! I'll still be watching because of Shirota-kun..." he said. "...and Takigawa-senpai," he added quickly when he felt that certain aura from Kimeru that quickly disappeared.

Takigawa and Shirota smiled at one another.

"I've only met Eiji-kun's parents at least twice when we were younger... They told me to keep him company whenever I could, which started that whole staying over every Tuesday and Thursday ritual," Shirota explained.

"I apologize if that ritual has to be broken, Shirotan..." Takigawa said, nodding to the younger boy.

Shirota waved a hand in front of him. "I don't mind."

Kimeru looked at Shirota and looked away for a minute. "That...would be my fault..." he said. "Gomen Shirota-kun," he said.

Shirota grinned. "Really, it's alright, Kimeru-senpai," he reassured the junior.

Aiba blinked at the way Kimeru was acting. "Senpai...?" he asked before spotting something unusual. "Isn't that Moriyama-senpai and Yanagi-kun?!" he said as he pointed at a table not far from them.

Shirota turned to Aiba. "Eh? Moriyama-senpai and Yanagi-kun?" he repeated, following Aiba's finger to the table.

Takigawa smirked. "Looks like they finally broke the ice..." he muttered.

Aiba grinned. "I knew it....it was impossible not to figure it out," he said with a nod.

Kimeru looked over his shoulder. "Looks like senpai listened to what I said after all," he said before their orders arrived.

"Eh, you talked with Moriyama-senpai?" Shirota inquired as he took a fork to indulge in his salad.

Kimeru nodded. "He asked me my opinion about asking someone out for a first date. It wasn't really hard to figure out who he was planning to ask if you pay attention to details," he explained.

Takigawa nodded in silence as he partook of his own salad.

"I'm surprised that they only started now though..." Aiba said with a shrug as he started on his own food.

"You should know from experience that things like these need time to blossom," Shirota explained eagerly.

Aiba smiled and nodded. "That's true..." he said in agreement.

----------

The rest of the meal was spent eating their chosen dishes - and at one point, Shirota and Takigawa fighting over the piece of pizza - before they were all stuffed.

"That was a satisfactory meal," Takigawa said in approval.

Aiba, who had excused himself a while ago to go to the bathroom, came back to join them. "I already paid the bill," he informed them.

"How much do we owe you?" Kimeru asked.

"Nothing..." Aiba answered.

"Aiba...."

"Senpai..." The two engaged in a glaring war before Aiba sighed. "Fine..." he said as he pulled out the receipt from his pocket to show the two juniors the amount of the bill.

Takigawa pulled out his wallet after mentally adding up the dishes he had ordered and handed out the amount to Aiba. "Here."

"You're not doing this just because I paid for dinner before, are you," Shirota inquired, looking over to Aiba.

"Maybe....maybe not…" Aiba said with a smirk.

Kimeru laughed when he heard this. "Sneaky kid..." he managed to say.

Takigawa stood. "It's about time we headed home, I believe?" he announced, grabbing his bag.

"Hai~ we still have classes half the day tomorrow, after all," Kimeru said.

"Then half the day we'd be in the auditorium making the final preparations for the play on Saturday," Aiba added.

"At least we don't have to worry about varsity practice until after this... Ne, Eiji-kun?" Shirota inquired as they left the restaurant.

Takigawa nodded.

----------

Aiba bowed to them as they reached an intersection where he would have to go the other way, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Takigawa-senpai, Kimeru-senpai," he said with a bow. "And don't forget about that test tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he added before kissing Shirota on the cheek. "Ja ne~" he called out as he crossed the street and turned around a corner.

Takigawa looked over to Shirota and smiled. "You've really changed him, Shirotan," he complimented.

Kimeru was still a bit shocked from what he witnessed. He shook his head to clear his mind. "Shirota-kun...you are one amazing kid..." he said as he patted Shirota on the shoulder.

"I don't think it's something to be praised for..." Shirota said as they headed in the direction of their houses.

"Why not? We're seeing a different side of Aiba now ever since you two got together," Takigawa argued.

"Aa...when he was at the dorms it's nothing but books, angst, his laptop, angst, academics, angst and did I mention angst?" Kimeru listed. "...Then you came and it became: books, Shirota, laptop, Shirota, academics, Shirota and......oh yeah~ Shirota," he said with a grin.

A slight blush came to Shirota's cheeks.

"You never did tell me how you managed it, Shirotan..." Takigawa said. "The next thing we knew, the two of you were..."

"We were talking about a few private matters..." Shirota cut in.

"Well, whatever you said must have caused him to drop all his defenses," Kimeru said with a shrug. "Because before the Saturday that you told us that you were together he was just staring at your picture the whole night."

"Point of the story is, I said a few things and I waited for him to act, which he did and we ended up together," Shirota said with finality.

Kimeru grinned. "You're one heck of a guy, you know that?" he said before messing up Shirota's hair.

Shirota moved forward, saving his hair from further disorientation as he swiftly combed it back to normal with his fingers.

Takigawa laughed. "Shirota doesn't enjoy having someone mess up his hair," he pointed out.

"I've noticed," Kimeru said before noticing that they were already at Takigawa's place. "Well...I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Shirota-kun," he said with a smile.

Shirota nodded, bidding them good night before walking further down the street to his own house.

----------

Takigawa unlocked the door and headed inside. He went the living room, noticing that one of Shirota's guitars was still there. He moved to place it back in its case. "I'll have to give this back to him tomorrow," he told himself.

Kimeru looked at the guitar for a while before smiling. "Hey Takigawa, play something for me," he said suddenly.

Takigawa paused and turned to Kimeru. "Ah, gomen... I don't..."

Kimeru chuckled. "Even if it's just the song for the play, I don't mind..." he said with a soft smile. "…please?"

Takigawa nodded before sitting down, taking the guitar up and began plucking the corresponding strings before he began to sing.

_"One Song__  
__Glory__  
__One Song__  
__Before I Go__  
__Glory__  
__One Song To Leave Behind_

_Find One Song__  
__One Last Refrain__  
__Glory__  
__From The Pretty Boy Front Man__  
__Who Wasted Opportunity_

_One Song__  
__He Had The World At His Feet__  
__Glory__  
__In The Eyes Of A Young Girl__  
__A Young Girl__  
__Find Glory__  
__Beyond The Cheap Colored Lights_

_One Song__  
__Before The Sun Sets__  
__Glory - On Another Empty Life__  
__Time Flies - Time Dies__  
__Glory - One Blaze Of Glory__  
__One Blaze Of Glory – Glory"_

Kimeru closed his eyes as Takigawa reached the middle of the song. He smiled softly as he listened to the lyrics.

_"Find__  
__Glory__  
__in a song that rings true__  
__truth like a blazing fire__  
__an eternal flame_

_Find__  
__One Song__  
__A Song About Love__  
__Glory__  
__From The Soul Of A Young Man__  
__A Young Man_

_Find__  
__The One Song__  
__Before The Virus Takes Hold__  
__Glory__  
__Like A Sunset__  
__One Song__  
__To Redeem This Empty Life_

_Time Flies__  
__And Then - No Need To Endure Anymore__  
__Time Dies"_

When the song ended, he slowly opened his eyes and gazed fondly at Takigawa. "That was perfect...Eiji-kun."

Takigawa smiled before breaking into a grin. "You just called me..." Takigawa got to his feet, placing the guitar back in its case before approaching Kimeru. "Do me a favor when you become a J-Pop singer..." he said quietly, pulling Kimeru to his feet. "Write a song for me..." he said, pressing his forehead against Kimeru's, smiling. "Ii na, Kime-kun?" he finished before kissing him on the lips.

Kimeru smiled. "No problem…" he whispered as he placed his arms around Takigawa, "I'll make the perfect song for you. I promise."

Takigawa nodded. "I know you will."

Kimeru chuckled before pulling away. "Now come on...we better get to bed or else we'll both end up waking up late tomorrow," he said.

Takigawa nodded. "You're right. Though no matter what time we sleep, it ends up with me still waking up early and having to prepare breakfast," he teased, heading up the stairs two steps at a time.

"That's not true! I can wake up early if I want to!" Kimeru said, grin back in place as he ran after Takigawa.

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	9. The New Teacher

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 9th chapter entitled **The New Teacher**. This chapter focuses on the actual performance of the school musical of RENT put on by the school before it shifts to the introduction of a new problem for Shirota and Aiba in the form of a new teacher in the form of Takahiro Akira. Their relationship is once again put to the test as Takahiro-sensei takes interest in Aiba. Shirota, along with the help of the Student Council, tries to expose the devious deeds of this seemingly innocent Math teacher.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The day of the musical arrived. The rest of the school plus the guests gathered in the auditorium that Saturday afternoon. Among those guests were Aiba's parents and some of Shirota's family.

Moriyama was giving final instructions to the cast before confirming that everything was working. "Alright, time to show everybody your hard work!" he said to the cast, who cheered in agreement before getting into position at the wings and on stage.

Aiba was somewhere in front; he was tasked by Yagami to take a whole video coverage of the play while Kimeru was in the front row beside Ueshima-sensei.

The curtains were pulled before the first song began to play. The eight cast members took their places under a spotlight as the piano instrumental began to play. It wasn't long before they all broke off into song.

_"525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.__  
__525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?__  
__In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.__  
__In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.__  
__In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?__  
__How about love?__  
__How about love?__  
__How about love?__  
__Measure in love.__  
__Seasons of love."_

_"525,600 minutes!__  
__525,000 journeys to plan.__  
__525,600 minutes - how can you measure the life of a woman or man?"_ Kazuki sang.

_"In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.__  
__In bridges he burned, or the way that she died,"_ Sota sang passionately before the rest came back to sing the final verse.

_"It's time now to sing out, though the story never ends.__  
__Let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends.__  
__Remember the love!__  
__Remember the love!__  
__Remember the love!__  
__Measure in love.__  
__Seasons of love!__  
__Seasons of love."_

Aiba smiled as he continued filming.

"They've done a good job in casting..." Ueshima commented quietly and Kimeru nodded in approval.

The musical continued before Takigawa took center stage with a guitar in hand as he sat himself down on the prop chair and began to play. After a few measures, he began singing _**'One Song Glory**_'.

Kimeru was mesmerized as he watched Takigawa on stage. He had seen the practices, and even had a chance to hear the song a few days before at home but he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Aiba grinned as he glanced at his senpai, _'Good job, Takigawa-senpai~'_ he thought.

After the song, Takigawa headed off-stage as the lights faded for a while before coming back on. The scene was set as a knock sounded before Yanagi entered before the song '_**Light my Candle**_' began between the two.

"Now now Kimeru-kun...Don't strangle the armrest..." Ueshima said as he saw Kimeru's grip on the armrest of the chair tighten.

Kimeru willed himself to relax and continue watching.

Shirota's family, who had met Takigawa quite a number of times already, silently applauded his fine performance on stage. The song ended not long after before a few scenes passed and Mark and Joanne's song of '_**Tango Maureen**_' was up next. Kazuki was on-stage first before Shirota made his entrance. As the song progressed, Shirota was fussing around with the prop equipment while Kazuki on the mic.

Their first short tango sequence that followed ended in Kazuki dropping Shirota intentionally to the floor as the former began to walk away, the song still in play. Shirota recovered and continued the song before their second sequence followed shortly after. As the song ended, the lights dimmed out before the rest of the musical continued.

Aiba grinned when as he watched Shirota move smoothly along the stage. He winced a bit as the boy was dropped, a soft thud echoing in the speakers. He fought back a laugh when he saw Kazuki leave the stage when the lights were out, muttering darkly about not getting the other to react inappropriately as they danced.

The musical ended with a reprise of _**'Seasons of Love'**_ from the cast members before the curtains were pulled down. A vibrant round of applause came from the audience as the three directors - Moriyama, Toru and Shiozawa - came out on stage.

"Thank you for coming to watch our rendition of RENT!" Moriyama said with a microphone in hand.

"We would like to introduce the cast once more, so please show them your support!" Toru continued with his own microphone in hand.

Aiba positioned himself at the aisle in order to have the full view of the cast, focusing on each as they stepped forward to take a bow. As soon as the curtains were dropped he hurried to get to the backstage to congratulate Shirota. He already spotted Kimeru moving to the sides as soon as he pressed the record button to stop the recording of the play. He looked around a bit to see where he could pass since the audience was already standing up to leave. That was when he spotted his family....he froze. _'EH?! Mother is talking to Shirota-kun's sister?!'_ he thought in disbelief.

----------

Shirota Maria bowed. "It's nice to finally meet Aiba's mother," she said conversationally.

Mikoto smiled at her. "It's wonderful to meet some of Shirota-kun's siblings as well, I've heard good things about you from Hiroki." she said.

Maria nodded. "This is my mother Pepi," she introduced, gesturing to her mother who stood. "And my brother Jun and sister Rina," she continued, gesturing to the two where Rina was on Jun's shoulders so she could see the stage.

----------

Backstage, the cast were congratulating one another.

"So that bike ended up working alright after all," Takigawa said as soon as he spotted Shirota, patting him on the back.

Shirota chuckled. "It always has. Kazuki-kun just doesn't know how to use it," he teased before running away from the said Joanne actor who chased him around, causing the rest of the cast members to laugh at this outcome.

"Takigawa! Good job!" Kimeru said as he came backstage.

"Yes...too much of a good job, Kimeru-senpai strangled the armrest of his chair during the **'Light My Candle'** song," Aiba said with a chuckled as he joined them.

Takigawa chuckled. "Yanagi and I had _that_ much effect on you, Kime-kun?" he teased.

"APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!!" Kazuki bellowed, still giving chase to Shirota, who managed to mount the bicycle and used it to escape from Kazuki.

Aiba laughed as he saw what the two was doing. "Go Shirota-kun~" he cheered.

Kimeru frowned. "What can I say...it looked realistic...not to mention the kissing scene back there...." he said.

----------

Mikoto bowed to them. "I'm very pleased to meet you," she said before gesturing to the two behind her. "These are Hinako, my eldest and Daisuke, my husband," she introduced.

Hinako bowed at them and Daisuke simply nodded.

----------

Takumi, after enjoying himself, halted Kazuki, who was panting now as Shirota stopped and got off the bicycle, grinning in triumph before approaching the three, lounging an arm over Aiba's shoulders.

Takigawa smiled. "Then I can safely assume I have inherited my mother's skills," he said.

Shirota turned to Takigawa. "Ah, that's right. Your mother's an actress and a model, isn't she?"

----------

Pepi stepped forward. "I do hope Yuu's visits to your house have not been troublesome for you, Mikoto-san?" she inquired.

Mikoto shook her head and smiled. "Not at all. I'm actually very grateful to him for managing to make Hiroki come home," she said.

----------

"Takigawa-senpai's mother is and actress and a model? That's amazing..." Aiba said as he looked at Takgiawa.

Kimeru nodded. "Yeah you inherited your mother's skills...." he said in agreement. ".....I'm just glad that Yanagi is dating Moriyama-senpai or else I'll--"

"YANAGI'S DATING WHO?!" came the immediate response of some of the cast.

"Er...I think I said that a bit too loud..." Kimeru said sheepishly.

Yanagi blushed a good crimson color as Moriyama simply grinned.

Shirota sighed. "Yes, you did, Kimeru-senpai..."

----------

Pepi raised her eyebrows. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad my youngest son's been able to do that for Hiroki-kun," she said.

Kimeru shrugged before grinning. "They were bound to find out anyway..." he said.

Aiba nodded in agreement before remembering something. "Ah! I almost forgot!! Before I went here I saw our parents talking over at the audience area!" he told Shirota.

Kimeru grinned at them. "Now isn't that interesting...right Eiji-kun?" he asked as he looked at Takigawa.

"What did you just call him?" came another collective reaction.

Kimeru smirked at them. "Is this rehearsed or what?" he asked sarcastically.

Shirota turned to Aiba. "You're kidding!" he said before turning to Kimeru. "Oi, I'm the only one who--"

Takigawa brought a hand up to cut Shirota off. "Relax, Shirotan," he said as he turned to Kimeru, nodding.

Kimeru chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, Shirota-kun, I'll call him Eiji instead," he said before pointing at Takigawa.

Shirota grinned, flashing a thumbs-up towards Kimeru. "I accept!"

Takigawa brought a hand to his face, sighing. "You guys..." he muttered.

Kimeru chuckled. "Then it's settled!" he said as he shook Shirota's hand before looking at Takigawa with a smile.

Aiba blinked. "O...k.....Now that was just strange."

Takigawa shrugged, but the slight blush on his cheeks was there. "I'll go and get changed..." he announced, heading off to the dressing room.

"I'll come with you!" Shirota called, following after the junior.

Aiba smiled. "Kimeru-senpai and I will just be waiting out here..." he said.

Kimeru nodded before looking around the stage.

----------

As soon as the two got into the dressing room - which was thankfully empty except for themselves - Shirota took of his prop glasses.

"It's alright, isn't it? I mean... breaking our tradition?" Takigawa asked quietly.

Shirota nodded. "Aa. I understand completely," he reassured him. "Don't worry, I'll find something to do to occupy my time." Shirota moved to get his clothes. "You just make sure you don't get into an argument with Kimeru-senpai about something trivial or I'll have to come and resolve it for you," he warned lightly.

----------

"So...senpai…" Aiba began as he looked at Kimeru. "How are things going?" he asked.

Kimeru grinned. "Everything's going fine...and you? I see you haven't started using Shirota-kun's name," he said. "It been a whole quarter and it's still 'Shirota-kun'."

Aiba frowned. "Well...I don't think that--"

"He'll like it once you do..." Kimeru said slyly.

"You...think so?" Aiba asked hesitantly and Kimeru nodded.

----------

Takigawa looked over to Shirota, blinking for a moment before approaching his place to retrieve his clothes.

Shirota, who had managed to finish changing into some casual clothes first, moved to the door. "I'll be going ahead, Eiji-kun!" he said.

"Go on, then," Takigawa called.

----------

"So what the heck are you waiting for?" Kimeru asked his kouhai with a grin.

"I...I guess you're right," Aiba said.

"Look, here he comes....good luck with that, Aiba," Kimeru said with a nod before heading towards the dressing room. "See you on Monday, Shirota-kun!" he said as he passed Shirota.

Shirota nodded over to Kimeru as he passed before walking up to Aiba, grinning. "Saa, I believe our families are still outside?" he offered.

"Yeah. Want to go to them now, Yuu-kun?" Aiba asked, a bit nervous about following Kimeru's advice.

Shirota nodded, making his way to the door. "Su---" He stopped and rounded to look over to Aiba, walking back and talking him by the arms. "What did you just call me?!" he asked.

Aiba blinked at Shirota. "Er...Yuu-kun?" he answered.

Shirota beamed, nodding excitedly. "I'm glad, I'm glad..." he muttered to himself before pulling him off to go see their families. "Saa, let's go, Hiroki!" he exclaimed happily.

Aiba blushed when he heard Shirota call him by his first name. "S-Sure..." he said before smiling.

As soon as they reached the audience area they saw that the only people there were the parents of the cast, who were either with them or -in Kazuki and Takumi's case- running around the audience area.

Aiba spotted their parents near the front row. "There they are!" he told Shirota as he led him to them.

Shirota nodded as they headed up to their families.

"I SEE YUU-ANI!!" Rina proclaimed from Jun's shoulders.

Mikoto looked around and spotted them as well. "Congratulations on that successful performance, Shirota-kun," she said as the two approached.

Daisuke simply nodded to them and Hinako waved.

Aiba smiled at them. "Aa, and I have it all on film," he said, "I'll provide a copy for you, Shirota-san," he told Shirota's mother.

Pepi nodded. "Arigatou, Hiroki-kun. That's very thoughtful of you," she said.

"Where's Eiji?" Jun inquired as Rina reached down and pulled on Shirota's hair.

Shirota jerked a thumb backstage. "Still dressing up. Why?"

"Just curious," Jun replied.

----------

Kimeru, knowing that only Takigawa would be inside, rushed into the dressing room. "Guess what!!" he said as he closed the door behind him.

Takigawa was halfway into pulling on a shirt before he looked over to Kimeru. "What?" he inquired as he followed through and put on his shirt.

Kimeru grinned. "Aiba just called Shirota 'Yuu-kun'," he said. "About time, don't you think?"

Takigawa stuffed the last of his costume into a bag after zipping it closed and nodded. "It took them long enough..." he said. "But if I know Shirota, he'd have replied with calling Aiba by his first name."

"I guess you're right," Kimeru said with a nod. "So I guess we'll be seeing more progress from the two of them," he said with a chuckle.

----------

Aiba checked on the camera as his sister talked to him about the play. His father, in the meantime, excused himself from the group for reasons no one knew while his mother was still talking to Shirota's mother.

Shirota, playing with Rina for a while and talking with Jun, noticed Aiba's father straying from the pack before sighing to himself.

"Yuu-ani, can I borrow glasses?" Rina asked from his shoulder.

Shirota looked up to Rina. "What? You mean my prop glasses?" he inquired as Rina nodded.

----------

Takigawa smirked. "I suppose so." He slung the bag over his shoulder before nodding to Kimeru. "Alright, I'm all set to go," he announced.

Kimeru nodded as he took hold of Takigawa's free hand. "Let's go on home then~" he said with a bright smile.

----------

Aiba looked up from his camera and noticed something unusual. He looked at the sound booth and realized what was amiss. "Excuse me for a moment..." he said as he headed to the small booth. "Is there something wrong sensei?" he asked the teacher near the equipment.

"Ah, Aiba-kun...just the person I needed to see," the teacher answered.

"Why is that, Takahiro-sensei?" Aiba asked.

----------

Shirota pulled out the case and took the glasses, handing them to Rina. "Be careful with them, alright?" he warned.

"Hai!" Rina replied, putting the glasses on.

"Don't worry, they're strictly prop glasses," Shirota reassured his sister.

----------

Takahiro smiled as he placed a hand on Aiba's shoulder. "I just wanted to tell you that I'll be handling the school paper and that I expect that copy of the play on Monday," he said as he took a few steps toward the boy.

Aiba, feeling his personal space being threatened, stepped back immediately and shrugged off the teacher's hand. "Aa...I-I'll finish editing it as soon as I can, sensei...though it's Yagami-senpai that you should inform about handling the club," he answered hurriedly. "Please excuse me sensei…I...I need to go back to my family," he added before running out of the booth to rejoin the rest.

Shirota put Rina down before looking around, seeing Aiba return from the sound booth as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Where'd you go off to, Hiroki?" he inquired, walking up to him.

"J-Just checked something in the sound booth. It's alright now..." Aiba told Shirota as he forced a smile.

Shirota blinked before nodding slowly.

"Yuu! It's time to go!" Pepi called.

Shirota looked over to his family and nodded before turning to Aiba. "Ja... I'll see you on Monday, Hiroki," he greeted before heading off.

When Monday morning arrived, Shirota came to the classroom after having a brief talk with Wada-senpai about tomorrow's practice now that the musical was over.

Aiba was silent; he came from the School Paper's office a while ago and the conversation he had with the new head of the club wasn't really something he could get over quickly. He didn't even notice Shirota arriving.

Endo, who did notice Shirota arrive, walked up to him. "Oi, Shirota! Did you hear? They said that a math teacher of the higher batch will be replacing ours," he said.

Shirota set his bag down on his desk. "Eh? What was wrong with our previous Math teacher?" he asked, frowning.

"She quit apparently, for reasons that the student body is yet to find out," Endo said. "I also heard that he'll be supervising the School Paper..." he added as he glanced over to Aiba.

Shirota followed Endo's gaze over to Aiba. "Oi, Hiroki..." he said, poking him on the arm gently. "You alright?"

----------

Takigawa came from the Council Room after a long conversation with Moriyama-senpai involving a lot of things - which included Yanagi-kun, the success of the musical, and the other projects for the rest of the school year. He sighed as he reached his classroom.

"Rough morning with Moriyama-senpai?" Toru inquired slyly.

Takigawa nodded as he sank into his seat. "He was asking me a lot of questions about relationships..." he explained with a sigh.

----------

Kimeru placed his bag on the table to take out his notebook. "Where the hell is my English homework...?" he muttered.

Aiba almost jumped in surprise as Shirota poked him. "H-huh? Yeah I'm fine..." he said.

"Something wrong, Aiba-kun?" Endo asked as he approached him as well.

Aiba shook his head. "It's nothing..."

----------

Once the bell rang, Ueshima came into the room to check the attendance. "Ah~ Aiba-kun...Takahiro-sensei wanted to see you for a while; he asked me to tell you to report to his office immediately," he said.

Aiba froze when he heard the name. "H-Hai sensei..." he said before standing up and leaving the room.

_'If that's about the School Paper, shouldn't he be talking to Yagami-senpai since he's the editor-in-chief?'_ Shirota thought to himself as homeroom period continued as usual as Ueshima-sensei continued taking attendance.

Aiba wasn't able to come back to class until the period before the first break. His was visibly shaken about something but didn't dare to tell anyone about it. He took deep breaths to help calm himself down.

When Aiba had finally managed to return to class, Shirota looked sideways to him. _'Well, apparently something's wrong...'_ he thought to himself with a frown before he returned his attention to the teacher as they went through one more class before the break came.

"Do you want to talk about anything, Hiroki?" Shirota asked quietly, leaning towards the boy's desk.

Aiba shook his head. "I-It's nothing..." he assured him and refused to talk about it any further.

Shirota sighed. _'Well, apparently it's not nothing...'_ he concluded in his mind, having already figured out Aiba's style with things. "If you say so..." he replied, pulling out a lunch box full of rice cookies. He took one and offered it to Aiba. "Hai," he said brightly.

"Sankyu..." Aiba said as he took the food offered to him.

----------

After their break, Aiba had managed to get himself back into a more appropriate mood for academics, but it soon disappeared as the next teacher came in.

"Good morning class, I'm Takahiro Akira, and I'll be your math teacher from now on. I'm pleased to meet you all."

Shirota felt a strange aura emanating from this new teacher as he frowned. _'Why do I get the feeling that there's something up with this teacher..?' _he thought to himself as he rose to his feet. "A-no, Shirota Yuu desu. I'm the class representative, so if there's anything you need help with, please don't hesitate to tell me, Takahiro-sensei," he said.

Takahiro smiled at Shirota. "I'll remember that, Shirota-kun. Arigatou," he said brightly. "So~ let's start this period with a pop quiz~" he said causing some of the class to groan.

As the students were taking the test, Takahiro moved around the room, keeping a watchful eye on each and everyone of them. He stopped behind Aiba's seat and placed a hand on the boy's back and leaned forward a bit. "Careful with your answers there, Aiba-kun..." he said in a low voice before moving on.

Aiba froze at the contact, but managed to recover as soon as the teacher went away.

Shirota noticed this from the corner of his eye, resisting the urge to break his pencil before he continued solving the problems. _'Relax...'_ he told himself repeatedly as he nearly burned the paper at how fast he was answering everything.

As soon as the papers were passed, Aiba looked at Shirota for a while. _'Please tell me he noticed that...'_ he mentally pleaded.

"Alright then, I'll be giving the papers back tomorrow and we'll see how you guys did," Takahiro said as he placed the papers in his envelope before pulling out a class list. "Let's see...now....um...Aiba-kun," he called out.

"H-Hai," Aiba said as he stood up.

"Why don't you tell me what your answer to number one was?" he said with a smile.

"A-no...negative 15," Aiba answered.

Takahiko nodded. "Are you sure about that?"

"Hai. I'm sure sensei..." Aiba replied.

"Very well then, we shall have to see the results of your quiz to find that out, ne?" Takahiko told him before starting the lecture on a new topic.

Aiba frowned as he sat down. _'Then what the hell was that for?'_ he thought.

Shirota raised an eyebrow at this development. _'Something's up with that teacher... Best we keep an eye on him...'_ he told himself as he looked over to Aiba before pulling out his notebook to take down some notes.

----------

Lunch break came along. Aiba was staring at his packed lunch as he thought of what happened during math class.

"Hiroki, aren't you going to eat?" Shirota inquired as he pulled out his own packed lunch.

Moriyama and Takigawa stopped by the 1-1 classroom. "Shirota-kun, we need a favor," Moriyama said, averting himself from looking into the classroom to look for Yanagi.

Takigawa chuckled as Shirota stood and stepped out of the classroom. "There're a few surveys we wanted to conduct before next quarter begins," he explained, handing out a pile of papers. "Distribute them among the freshman classes and have them back by the end of the week."

Shirota nodded. "I can do that..." he replied, glancing over to Moriyama before shrugging. "Yanagi-kun went to have lunch in the cafeteria, senpai..."

Moriyama blushed, looking over to Shirota and nodded. "A...Aa..."

Takigawa smiled, patting Shirota on the shoulder. "We'll expect to see you in the Council Room after classes, Shirotan. Ja."

The two headed off to the cafeteria as Shirota re-entered the classroom as he sat down in his seat, blinking at the papers. "What the..? A popularity poll..?"

Endo looked over Shirota's shoulder. "What's it for?" he asked.

Aiba stabbed his fork at the chicken in his lunch box before taking a deep breath. "Itadakimasu~" he said to himself as he started eating his lunch.

Suzuki joined Endo and scanned the paper. "That looks interesting."

Shirota sighed. "Another event for next quarter," Shirota explained. "I'll hand this out tomorrow during pre-homeroom," he said as he stuffed it into his bag before starting on his lunch.

Aiba watched Shirota as he got back to his seat. "I think I need to talk to Yagami-senpai about that teacher..." he muttered darkly.

Suzuki and Endo returned to their own seats as Shirota turned to Aiba. "Yes, you should..." he replied quietly. "I don't like the way he's acting around you..." he added, more to himself as he turned his attention to his food.

"Neither do I..." Aiba said with a sigh. "And you won't even believe the questions he started asking me when I went to his office this morning..."

Shirota looked around the classroom for a moment to make sure they weren't going to be overheard before turning to Aiba. "Such as?"

Aiba paused for a moment before looking around. "Well...some personal questions for one...he even gave me this...which is strange in itself," he said as he showed Shirota the calling card of their math teacher.

Shirota's eye twitched at the sight. "I would've understood his intentions if he was doing it with everybody else... But why is it always you?" he inquired angrily, keeping his voice low.

Aiba shrugged. "I don't know either, but believe me....I don't like it," he muttered.

----------

Lunch break soon ended and the classes started once more. After classes, normal activities for students in the varsity and other clubs resumed.

"I'll see you after practice, Yuu-kun. The paper has a meeting today so I won't be covering your training," Aiba said.

Shirota brought up his bag, chuckling. "I won't be attending practice today since I need to meet up with Takigawa-senpai and Moriyama-senpai this afternoon," he explained. "So I'll meet you out by the gates after activities are done. Ja, Hiroki!" he said, nodding as he left for the Council Room.

Aiba nodded as he left the room for the School Paper office. As soon as he got there, "A-re?" he said as he looked around, noticing that no one was there. Aiba stepped into the room and decided to wait for the others.

----------

"Yo, Shirotan," Takigawa greeted as he rose from his chair and nodded to Shirota as he came in through the door.

Shirota nodded as he went to his desk.

"Aibacchin's part of the school paper, isn't he?" Moriyama inquired behind last week's paper as he sat leisurely at his desk.

"Hai..." Shirota replied. "Why do you ask, senpai?"

"Toru and Nakagauchi told me that there was something suspicious going on lately... With that new teacher..." Moriyama explained.

Shirota frowned. "Aa..."

Takigawa folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back on his desk. "This new teacher... Takahiro Akira..." he began. "He's teaching the first years, isn't he?" He turned to Shirota.

"Aa... He's teaching Math..." Shirota replied. "Besides supervising the School Paper, that is..."

"Which reminds me, the other members went out earlier to make the deadline for the mid-week release of the paper covering last Saturday's production," Moriyama explained.

Shirota blinked. "Aren't they supposed to be having a meeting right now?" he asked wearily.

Moriyama lowered the paper he was reading and shook his head. "No... Yagami-kun told me himself he was-- Oi, Shirota-kun!"

Upon hearing that there wasn't going to be a meeting, Shirota dashed out of the Council Room and headed to where the School Paper would meet. Unfortunately, this was on the other side of the school. i_'I'm going to kill that teacher if he does anything to Aiba..!'_ he thought to himself.

----------

"Aiba-kun..." Takahiro greeted as he entered the room.

Aiba looked up from his draft of the article he did. "T-Takahiro-sensei..." He looked at the teacher, watching his movements.

"Come now, Aiba-kun...no need to be tense. It's just the two of us here..." Takahiro said as he moved towards the boy who immediately stood up and backed away.

_'That's exactly why I'm tense!!'_ he thought.

Takahiro smiled. "The other members won't be coming. They still have their articles to finish...it's funny that you didn't get that certain announcement," he said as he continued advancing. "Funny....and very convenient…"

Aiba's eyes widened as his back hit the wall. _'Oh Shit...'_ "Sensei...I'm warning you...come any closer and I'll--" Whatever he said was cut off as his teacher grabbed him by the arms and silenced the freshman with his lips.

"HIROKI!!!!" Shirota called, sliding the door to the office open and paused, his eyes widening at the scene. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" he exclaimed, walking into the room, glaring dangerously over to Takahiro. _'I'll _kill _him!'_ his mind shouted.

Takahiro pulled back when he heard the door slide open. _'I knew I should have locked that...'_ he thought in irritation. "Shirota-kun...how nice of you to join us..." he said as he smiled at the boy who just barged in. "It's a shame that you had to walk in on the private lessons that Aiba-kun had requested."

_'What?!'_ Aiba thought in shock.

"I'll see you two, tomorrow then," Takahiro continued as he walked out of the room, patting Shirota on the shoulder as he passed.

As his foorsteps faded down the hall, Aiba stood there, staring at the door. His gaze fell on Shirota. "Y-Yuu..." he said before running to the boy, throwing his arms around him.

Shirota fought to keep himself calm as Takahiro made his exit. Shirota wrapped his arms around Hiroki protectively. "That jerk..." he muttered darkly. "Gomen, Hiroki... I should've realized it sooner..." he whispered over to the boy. "Then we could've avoided all this..."

----------

"Takigawa-kun," Moriyama called.

"Hai?"

"Do a thorough investigation on Takahiro Akira's background. I have a bad feeling about him..." he said.

Takigawa nodded. "I'll do that."

----------

Aiba shook his head as he tried to calm himself down. "We both didn't know....so no one is to blame…" he managed to say. "I...I can't believe that he…he did that."

"We'll have to keep a close eye on him from now on..." Shirota said. "I don't want him to be trying anything like that again..." He looked over to Aiba before bringing a hand up, running a thumb across Aiba's lips. "Get those germs off, too..." he added quietly.

Aiba smiled before stepping back a bit. "Thanks Yuu..." he said.

The next day at Math class, the test that they took the previous day was returned.

"I failed?!" Aiba said incredulously as he stared at his paper. "But my answers are correct!" he argued.

Takahiro looked up from the class list and smiled. "Yes they are, but your solutions are wrong...and what does that tell me, Aiba-kun?" he said.

_'Is he accusing me of cheating?!'_ he thought in shock. "Sensei...these solutions are based on our book!"

Takahiro nodded. "Solutions that it would seem that you do not understand, Aiba-kun," he said pleasantly. "I shall see you after classes and we'll see what we can do, na?"

Aiba stared at him. _'No way I'm going to--'_

"Either that or you would have to go to detention. Either way, Aiba-kun, you'll be stuck with me after classes," Takahiro put in.

Shirota took hold of Aiba's paper and compared it with his before blinking. "Well, this isn't fair..." he said out loud before looking around. "Zukki, can I borrow your paper for a second?" he inquired.

Zukki held out his paper. "Sure..."

Shirota compared all three before a low "Heh..." escaped him. "Now I _know_ this isn't fair..." he pointed out, causing some of his classmates to look in his direction.

"And what may I ask is not fair in my grading system, Shirota-kun? Are you perhaps questioning the grades that I gave out?" Takahiro said as he looked at Shirota. "Aiba-kun. Write your answers on the board."

"H-Hai!" Aiba said as he stood up, taking his paper from Shirota before heading to the board to write his solutions.

After finishing he made a move to go back to his seat. "Stay there, Aiba-kun," Takahiro instructed as he stood up and looked at the board. "Can anyone tell me why this is wrong?" he asked the class who looked at each other.

"No one? Then I'll show you why this is wrong…" he said as he picked up the chalk and got his copy of the book. "If we follow Aiba-kun's solutions, which he claims came from the book, this would come out as this..." he said as he wrote an answer beside Aiba's.

"If this is the case...could anyone tell me why Aiba-kun still arrived at the correct answer regardless of the fact that the process that he followed is wrong?" He looked around the class again. "Then let me tell you why...that would be because Shirota-kun is seated next to him," he said as he looked at Shirota.

"Now...I direct your attention to the correct solutions which only one of you has managed to get," he continued as he wrote down the solutions, consulting his book every now and then. "These....are the solutions that I expected you to use, but it just so happens that only Endo-kun was smart enough to get them all," he paused to look at the class. "The rest have gotten low marks as well, and it just so happened that some of you failed because of carelessness."

"Now, if no one else would like to speak up as to why that is the grade you have gotten, you may return to your seat Aiba-kun," he said as he looked at Aiba who had his head hung low as he returned to his seat.

"Detention after class, Aiba-kun...and you have Shirota-kun to thank for that," Takahiro finished.

Shirota blinked at the solutions before standing. "Please wait a moment, Takahiro-sensei... Those solutions just now..." he began. "If I may be so blunt to say this, they're incomplete. There are holes in the solution where the representation isn't clear at all..."

Takahiro sighed. "Shirota-kun, I would appreciate it if you would just keep quiet and not argue any further," he said. "Detention for you after classes as well."

Aiba sighed in relief.

"I shall have you assigned to another teacher after classes for your detention work," Takahiro added.

Aiba looked up. _'WHAT?!'_

Shirota took his seat, sighing, rubbing the back of his head in irritation. "Hai..." he responded. _'Mattaku... This is just unfair...'_ he thought to himself, sliding his test paper off his desk and slipped it into his bag before pulling out his notebook, consulting last quarter's notes during Takahiro's lecture while at the same time half-heartedly taking down new notes as well.

Aiba sighed heavily as he took down notes as well.

----------

First break came. Only one topic was being talked among the various groups in the classroom of first year section one: What happened during their Math class.

"I can't go to detention with him!! I absolutely refuse!!" Aiba said.

Shirota heaved a huge sigh and crossed his arms, leaning back on his chair.

"But seriously, it's hard to believe..." Zukki said incredulously. "You and Aiba-kun were always at the top of the class when it came to Math, Shirota-kun... And now detention...?"

Yanagi shook his head. "We're dealing with a strange teacher, that Takahiro guy..."

"Aa... I'll see what I can do..." Shirota quirked up before turning to Aiba. "I'm sorry I can't do anything about detention later, Aibacchin... But I'll have a talk with Moriyama-senpai and Takigawa-senpai about this during lunch... Hopefully they'll be able to do something..."

Endo looked at the two. "What's his problem anyway? Did you guys do something to him?" he asked.

Aiba glared at his desk. "He's the one who did something to me..." he muttered darkly.

"And we'd prefer not to discuss it here," Shirota said pointedly.

"We want to lend a hand if we can..." Yanagi offered.

Aiba sighed. "Thanks, but I don't want you guys getting into any kind of trouble..." he said as he looked at his friends.

"But he already got himself into trouble..." Yanagi argued, jerking a thumb towards Shirota.

"It was for a good reason..." Shirota fired back before they had to continue classes.

----------

When lunch break arrived, Shirota stood. "I'll be back in a bit. Look after Aibacchin while I'm gone, alright?" he said over to Yanagi and Endo, who nodded as he left for the Council Room.

Aiba sighed before starting on his lunch.

----------

Meanwhile, Kimeru was heading to the cafeteria with his friends. "So Kime... How's that song you're trying to do?" Nagayan asked.

"It's been put on hold for a while to make way for a new project," Kimeru told him.

"What project?" Furukawa asked.

"That would have to be a secret for now," Kimeru said with a grin.

----------

Moriyama was looking through a folder Takigawa had just handed him. "Well... Isn't this interesting information you've gathered, Takigawa-kun. I'm surprised..."

Takigawa nodded. "Arigatou." He turned to the door to see Shirota arrive. "Ah, Shirota-kun. You came."

Shirota walked up to Moriyama's desk and took the folder. "Let me see that," he said, his eyes reading through the information.

"Oi, I was reading--"

"I need a favor from you two..." Shirota cut in as he read through the file of Takahiro Akira.

Moriyama blinked, looking over to Takigawa who shrugged. "What is it, Shirota-kun?"

"Can you bring a video camera to wherever he holds detention?"

"What for?"

Shirota closed the folder. "I want to get proof of what he's doing in private. Especially with Hiroki..."

Takigawa walked up to him. "Wait, detention?" he repeated.

Shirota nodded. "Takahiro gave him detention for failing our test yesterday."

"That's rare... Considering that Aiba-kun isn't one to get a failing grade in Math of all subjects..." Takigawa reasoned.

Shirota pulled out his own test from his pocket, unfolded it and slammed it on Moriyama's desk. "Tell me what's wrong with the solutions I used."

Takigawa blinked. "A 'D'?!" he exclaimed.

Moriyama examined the solutions for a minute. "I don't see anything wrong with these solutions... If I'm still applying my first year Math knowledge to testify it..."

Takigawa scanned the test as well. After a while, he looked over to Shirota. "Seriously?"

Shirota nodded. "I've been given detention, but he simply refuses to have anybody else intrude so he's assigned me to somebody else," he explained before he bowed. "So... Onegai shimasu!"

Takigawa and Moriyama looked at one another before nodding. "We'll get it no matter what, Shirota-kun. Don't worry," Moriyama responded.

----------

Aiba stared at the detention slip in his hands; one was his while the other was Shirota's. "....he got Ueshima-sensei for detention..." he muttered as he read the contents. "And I'm stuck with my worst nightmare..."

----------

The day passed more quickly than Aiba would like. He watched the clock as the last few seconds of class ended. He pulled out his detention slip as soon as the final bell rang. "I really have a bad feeling about this...." he said to himself.

Shirota stood. Aiba had handed him his detention slip when he got back to the classroom to find that he would be spending detention with Ueshima-sensei. He reached out for Aiba's hand as soon as they were the only ones in the classroom. "This will be the last time..." he muttered. "After today, he'll stop harassing you... I swear..." Shirota took a step towards Aiba and kissed him on the lips. "Ii na, Hiroki?" he said softly, smiling as he stroked the boy's cheek.

Aiba leaned a bit to Shirota's touch. "Alright..." he said quietly. "You'll wait for me when detention is over right?" he asked as he looked at Shirota.

Shirota nodded firmly. "Of course. I've always waited, haven't I?" he said with a soft chuckle.

Aiba chuckled. "That's true...." he said before pulling back a bit. "We better go before that teacher decides to extend detention period..."

----------

After going down the opposite direction from where Shirota was going, it wasn't long until Aiba reached Takahiro's office. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Come in," came the smooth voice of the man inside the office.

Aiba stepped inside. "I'm here for detention, sensei," Aiba said.

Takahiro grinned. "Very good, Aiba-kun... Please lock the door."

----------

Shirota sighed as he made his way in the opposite direction to Ueshima's office. The door was ajar as he saw the man drinking some coffee. He knocked lightly on the door.

"Ah, Shirota-kun~" Ueshima said cheerfully, waving him inside. "Come in, come in."

Shirota bowed before entering, holding out the slip to him. "I believe you've been informed of the situation, sensei?" he inquired.

Ueshima waved off the slip. "Ah, I have. And I find it quite hard to believe, honestly," he pointed out, gesturing to a seat in front of him across his desk. "Sit down, Shirota-kun."

----------

Aiba locked the door behind him before looking around the office.

"You do understand why you're here, don't you Aiba-kun?" Takahiro asked as he stood from his chair.

"Because I failed a test," Aiba answered, causing Takahiro to chuckle.

"That's not it, Aiba-kun...to be honest you did very well on your test."

Aiba looked at him in apprehension. "Then...then why did I receive a failing mark?" he asked.

"That would be because it's the only way to get you to have detention...and would you like to know why that is?" Takahiko asked before advancing on Aiba who shook his head as an answer to the question. "That would be because it's the only way to get you alone...." the teacher finished before taking hold of the boy.

"Sensei...Don't…" Aiba pleaded.

"I'm afraid that you don't have a choice in the matter, Aiba-kun," Takahiro said before smirking.

----------

"Takigawa-kun approached me during their free period about the matter with Takahiro-sensei," Ueshima began, setting down his cup on the desk. "And with concerns to your pop quiz yesterday... The marks he made on your papers aren't your real scores."

Shirota blinked. "What?"

Ueshima held out a notebook to Shirota. "Test scores are recorded in a subject teacher's notebook before they return the papers to the students. I managed to borrow Takashiro-sensei's notebook earlier for reference."

Shirota flipped to their class' grades. "This is completely different!" he reasoned.

Ueshima nodded. "Aa. But he did the opposite for a reason..." he said quietly, taking the notebook back. "Unfortunately, I wouldn't--"

"He failed Aibacchin on purpose..." Shirota muttered as realization struck. "To get him alone..." He looked over to his homeroom adviser. "Ueshima-sensei!"

Ueshima held a hand up. "Don't bother, Shirota-kun. Takigawa assured me that he and Moriyama will get to the bottom of this by the end of detention."

Shirota shrugged. "I hope so..."

----------

Unknown to Takahiro and Aiba, a small red light was peeking through two books on the bookshelf; the lens of a video camera recording everything going on in the room, including what was going on between Takahiro and Aiba.

The detention period only lasted for an hour, but for Aiba it seemed a lot more.

Takahiro smirked as he heard the last bell of the day, signaling the end of the detention period. He looked at Aiba who sat at the corner of the room, hugging his knees as tears ran down his face.

"I'll see in class tomorrow, Aiba-kun.....and be careful not to get anymore detentions," he said before taking his things and leaving the room.

----------

Shirota, who Ueshima had let off 15 minutes before the period ended, headed off to meet up with Aiba. He stopped a bit before the office as he saw Takahiro leaving his office before he ran forward and stepped inside, looking around and spotted Aiba. His eyes widened. "HIROKI!" he hissed, moving up to him.

Like clockwork, Takigawa and Moriyama arrived moments later, strolling into the room. Moriyama moved forward to retrieve the hidden camera as Takigawa approached the two. Moriyama stopped the recording before Takigawa spoke. "Are you alright, Aiba-kun?" he asked hesitantly.

Aiba shook his head silently as he looked up at his two senpais and Shirota, his tears still falling from his eyes.

"Takahiro-sensei...he...he…" he trailed off, looking down once again.

Shirota knelt down and wrapped his arms around Aiba in an attempt to comfort him. "It's alright... You don't have to talk about it, Hiroki..." he said quietly.

Moriyama was rewinding the tape already. "I left this here to record since before detention started. So it should have recorded everything that went on," he explained.

Takigawa nodded as he and Moriyama checked the contents to the tape through the viewer if it contained what they needed.

"Come on, let's get you home, okay?" Shirota said quietly as he helped Aiba up to his feet.

Aiba nodded as he allowed Shirota to help him up. He remained quiet all throughout the way home. One thing he did though was he didn't let go of Shirota's hand the moment that they left Takahiro's office.

"I'll leave it to you, senpai tachi," Shirota said to the two before leaving with Aiba.

Takigawa watched them leave before turning to Moriyama. "We'd better get this evidence ready for tomorrow, Moriyama-senpai..."

Moriyama nodded. "Aa. I'll burn it into a CD in the Multimedia Room," he said, going ahead as Takigawa left to meet up with Kimeru.

----------

On their way to Aiba's house, Shirota felt Aiba's grip on his hand and he was more than obliged to return that grip as he turned to the other boy. "Do you... want me to stay over with you tonight?" he inquired quietly.

Aiba nodded at him. "Please…" he said. "Mother and Father went out of town for a anniversary trip and nee-san would be sleeping over at a friend's house..." he explained after a few minutes more of silence.

Shirota nodded, kissing Aiba on the head. "Alright..." he replied quietly, managing a smile. "We don't have to talk about what happened to you earlier... I swore to you that it would be the very last time, right?" he said as they reached Aiba's house.

Aiba nodded silently before pulling out his keys to their house. He opened the door for Shirota to get inside.

----------

Kimeru saw Takigawa approach from his position by the school gates. "What took you so long? Did something happen? Aiba and Shirota went by earlier and Aiba looked like he looked death in the eye…" he said with a frown.

Takigawa sighed. "Let's start walking. It's quite a long story..." he said finally as he began telling Kimeru about Takahiro-sensei, Aiba and Shirota on their way to his place.

----------

Shirota set his bags down by the couch after closing the door behind him before easing Aiba onto the armchair.

Aiba sat down on the armchair. "We have dinner in the fridge...we can just heat it later," he said. He looked at the living room and sighed. "Who's going to see that video that the Student Council took?" he asked.

"The higher ups of the school..." Shirota replied carefully. "So it's just the principal, vice-principal and the faculty... I won't ask you what happened if you don't want to talk about it, okay?" He bent down so that he was eye level with Aiba. "Do you want anything?" he asked quietly.

"I...I want you to know what happened before you hear it from anyone else..." Aiba said quietly, as he motioned for Shirota to sit beside him before starting to tell him what had happened inside the office of their Math teacher.

----------

"HE WHAT?!" Kimeru exclaimed as soon as Takigawa finished telling him what happened. "And has Shirota seen that video?" he asked.

Takigawa shook his head. "I'm afraid that if he finds out, all hell will break loose and he'll kill Takahiro for doing what he did, given Shirota's strong sense of wanting to protect Aiba..." he said quietly.

Kimeru frowned. "That's true...but knowing Shirota he'd find out one way or another," he said as they reached Takigawa's house. "And according to what you just told me...he has to be there for Aiba right now..."

Takigawa chuckled. "I'm sure he already is," he said as he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door before heading inside with Kimeru.

Kimeru nodded. "Ah! I almost forgot!! Eiji I want to ask you a favor!" he said. "Teach me how to cook!"

Takigawa blinked. "What's this sudden interest all of a sudden?" he asked, chuckling as he moved into the kitchen.

"I just don't think it's fair that you always do the cooking, that's all...." Kimeru said with a grin.

Takigawa smiled. "I don't mind doing the cooking," he said. "But if you want any lesson on cooking, we can do it during the weekend..." he offered.

"Promise?" Kimeru asked as he used the puppy dog eyes on Takigawa.

Takigawa chuckled, patting Kimeru on the head. "Hai," he replied before Pearl barked, announcing her presence. "Saa, I'll go and get dinner prepared. Would you mind feeding Pearl and Q in the meantime, Kime-kun?"

Kimeru grinned. "No problem~" he said as he saluted before going to the kitchen do what was asked of him.

----------

Aiba took a deep breath before starting. "Takahiro-sensei told me that the grade he placed on my paper wasn't my actual grade...he admitted that he failed me to get me alone. He didn't notice that it was already an entrapment operation on the council's part," he said. "He made me lock the door and advanced on me..." He paused for a bit, feeling the tears well up once more. "The room....the room was soundproof so even if I did call for help, nothing would happen."

Aiba looked down. He clasped his hands together and focused his gaze on them, unable to look anywhere else. "He forced me, Yuu...and I... I couldn't do anything to stop him...and until now...I can still feel every touch he did…"

Shirota sat himself down beside Aiba and listened quietly, looking down at the boy's hands. When he was done, Shirota brought both hands on top of Aiba's. "I'm sorry... I said I'd never leave your side..." he began before he brought a hand up to Aiba's face, caressing his cheek before having him face him. "If there's any way I can help you forget, Hiroki... Just tell me, alright?" he whispered, the corner of his lips curling into a small smile.

Aiba nodded at him. "Yuu...would you mind sleeping beside me tonight, then?" he asked.

Shirota's smile widened slightly before leaning forward and kissing Aiba on the lips for the second time that day. "Of course..." he replied. "So long as I'm not fighting for your affection with your panda plushie," he teased lightly.

Aiba chuckled. "Oh you don't have to worry about that. After all, he's just a substitute when you're not around," he admitted.

Shirota nodded. "Alright then," he said, getting to his feet. "Let's go and heat up that dinner, shall we?" he said, happily changing the subject as he strolled into the kitchen. "Saa, did your mom leave any cake here?" he wondered out loud.

"Uh... I think there's still some in the fridge..." Aiba said as he stood up and followed Shirota to the kitchen.

"Yosh! We have dessert for later!" Shirota said gleefully as he pulled open the fridge.

Aiba chuckled. "It would seem so..." he said with a smile.

Shirota managed to find the dinner Aiba was referring to and pulled it out from the fridge. "This is it, right?" he inquired, setting it down by the microwave.

Aiba nodded as he set the microwave to heat the food. "Just one minute will do..." he said as he pressed some buttons. "There we go," he said as the microwave started heating their dinner.

----------

Takigawa was preparing a fairly simple dinner of soy chicken with some special chicken rice that went with it in the kitchen. _'I wonder how Shirotan and Aiba-kun are doing..?'_ he thought to himself.

Kimeru returned from feeding the two household pets. "Q really has an appetite, doesn't he?" he said.

Takigawa chuckled. "Of course. Why do you think he's so fat?" he said before transferring the cooked chicken to a platter before he began cooking the rice in a special manner.

Kimeru chuckled. "That's true..." he said. "He has got to be the most pampered rabbit I have ever laid my eyes on."

Takigawa grinned as he continued cooking the rice. Before long, he had finished his dishes as he and Kimeru went to set them on the table before they proceeded to feast.

----------

"Why is it that every time I come over your family offers good food?" Shirota whined as he took another bite of their dinner.

Aiba thought for a moment. "Maybe it's because my mother had anticipated you coming..." he answered.

----------

"Another five star meal as usual~" Kimeru complimented after the meal. "Now I do the dishes~" he said with a grin.

Takigawa smiled, nodding as he rose to his feet and cleaned up the table while Kimeru did the dishes.

-----------

Shirota was already partaking of dessert after dinner. "You'll have to ask your mom about this cake, Hiroki..." he said in between bites.

"I'll have my mom teach me how to bake it, then," Aiba said in amusement, taking his own slice of cake.

After taking care of the dishes, Shirota and Aiba went upstairs to the latter's room. "I think I have some loose shirts that could fit you..." Aiba muttered as he rummaged around in his locker and pulled out a few shirts that he thought might fit the other.

"I have my spare set of clothes from practice that I didn't use today..." Shirota explained. "You don't have to worry about that, Hiroki..."

"That's good to hear," Aiba said in relief. "For a minute there I would have to go and get some of my father's shirts," he teased. "You can change here, I'll go change in the bathroom," he said as he took out some of his clothes and went out of the room to change.

Shirota chuckled before nodding. "Aa." He waited for Aiba to leave the room before moving to his bag that he had brought upstairs with him and pulled out his spare set and changed. When he was done, he folded his uniform up and set them down on top of his bag. _'Hmm... I'll have to ask Hiroki if I can get this washed for tomorrow...'_ he thought to himself before he straightened up and moved to the bed.

Aiba went back to his room after changing. "Yuu, give me your uniform and I'll put it in the wash," he said. "I might as well do it now so that you can wear it tomorrow."

Shirota paused, chuckling to himself before pointing to his bag. "It's over there," he directed. _'Read my mind, didn't you?'_

Aiba took Shirota's uniform and went downstairs to put it in the washing machine along with some other clothes. After setting it, he went back upstairs. "It would take 15 minutes before I can put it in the drier so that all I have to do tomorrow is iron it," he said as he entered the room.

Shirota nodded as he went to retrieve his bag, deciding to do some homework. "I saw the actual grades of the quiz earlier..." he said, pulling out a piece of paper so that he could write his essay for English.

"You did?" Aiba asked as he pulled out his notebook to do their homework as well. "What were our actual scores?"

Shirota clicked on his mechanical pencil and looked over to Aiba. "You and I got 'A's'..." he replied with a reassuring smile before moving to write his essay.

"I knew it...." Aiba muttered darkly before finishing his homework.

----------

After 15 minutes, Aiba went downstairs to put the clothes he washed in the dryer. He closed the lights and made sure that the doors were locked before returning upstairs. "That should do it..." he said before yawning as he entered his room.

Shirota was working on the floor the entire time. He had finished the last sentence to his essay before he slipped it into his folder and moved to put it back into his bag before his hand sank to the floor as he dozed off.

Aiba sweat dropped when he saw Shirota on the floor. "Honestly...this guy..." he muttered as he approached the boy. After a few moments, he managed to get Shirota on the bed. He sighed in relief. "There...now at least he doesn't have to complain of any backaches..." he said as he slipped under the covers as well.

The next day, Shirota yawned, rolling onto his side before he accidentally fell off the bed with a thud. "I-te!" he complained, hitting his head on the floor as he sat up, rubbing his head gingerly. "Mou..." He blinked, looking around to realize that he was in Aiba's room. _'Oh right... I spent the night here with him...'_ he reminded himself.

Aiba woke up to the sound of a loud thud. "Huh?" he said in confusion before looking around, spotting Shirota on the floor not soon after. "O-oi...Yuu are you alright?" he asked as he hopped off the bed and helped Shirota up.

Shirota saw Aiba and nodded. "Aa..." he replied feebly before being helped to his feet. "Sorry I woke you..."

Aiba smiled. "No it's fine...I was planning to wake up this early anyway," he said after glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Hiroki~ Breakfast is on the table..." a voice said from outside the door.

"NEE-SAN?!" Aiba exclaimed as he opened the door, only to see his sister smiling at him.

Shirota scratched his head with one hand while the other rubbed his eyes before stifling a yawn. He turned to the door and lowered his hands, bowing. "Ohayou gozaimasu..." he greeted sleepily.

Hinako smiled. "Good Morning to you as well, Shirota-kun," she said, "Now why don't you come down for breakfast?"

Aiba blinked, still trying to get over the fact that his sister was there. "We'll be down in a bit," he replied.

Hinako nodded. "Alright," she said before leaving.

Shirota resumed rubbing his eyes before he approached Aiba. "What are you surprised about?" he inquired, lounging an arm over the other boy's shoulders.

"Well...I'm surprised because if I recall correctly, when she sleeps over at a friend's house, she doesn't come back until after classes," Aiba explained.

Shirota shrugged before heading for the door. "Well, I'm hungry, and I can't go back to sleep now..." he said, taking Aiba's hand. "Ikuzo~" he said, pulling him out of the room.

Hinako saw them go down the stairs. "You're uniform is over there, Shirota-kun," she said as she pointed on the table by the stairs.

"....Nee-san...you ironed them?" Aiba asked.

Hinako nodded. "I had nothing else to do and I saw them in the dryer," she explained.

Shirota nodded. "Arigatou, Hinako-san," he said. "I'll take a quick shower and dress up after breakfast, then..."

"No problem~" Hinako said as she went upstairs. "I already had breakfast a while ago. I'll just be in my room to get ready for school," she explained.

Aiba nodded before leading Shirota to the dining room to have breakfast.

----------

Takigawa had woken up ahead of Kimeru and went to prepare breakfast. Once he had set everything on the table, he proceeded to feed Q and Pearl.

Pearl was barking excitedly as Takigawa set down her bowl. "Not so loud, Pearl," he said. "You'll wake Kimeru-kun up."

"Too late for that..." Kimeru said with a yawn as he joined Takigawa downstairs. "Good morning....I have interesting news for you."

Takigawa got to his feet and gestured to the dining table. "What news would that be?" he inquired.

"That teacher that you were talking about earlier," Kimeru started as he followed Takigawa to the table. "He's connected to the principal....so if and when you come forward with that video, you better have the entire Council and at least a faculty member behind you."

Takigawa nodded as he took his seat. "Moriyama, Shirota and I will be there... as will Ueshima-sensei," Takigawa said with a smile.

"Bring Aiba along. He could testify and he would be concrete proof on the matter since the principal could just say that's it's all a set-up," Kimeru said, "Then tell me what happened once it's over."

Takigawa nodded. "No problem. Let me just go and tell Shirotan," he said before standing. He took out his cell phone and speed-dialed Shirota's cell phone as he moved into the living room.

----------

Shirota was sitting down to breakfast when his phone vibrated from his pocket as he pulled it out. "A-re? What's Eiji-kun calling for at this time?" he thought out loud, looking over to Aiba. "Gomen, I need to take this." He stood and went into the kitchen before answering the call. "Hai?"

_"Shirotan, I need a favor,"_ came Takigawa's voice over the phone.

"What would that be?"

_"We're going to see the principal about yesterday's events this morning at pre-homeroom and we need the Council, Ueshima-sensei and Aiba-kun to be there. So can I ask you to tell Aiba..?"_

Shirota blinked before nodding. "A...Aa. I understand. I'll take care of it," he replied. "Ja, I'll see you later." He ended the call and sighed.

Aiba looked at Shirota as he ended the call, "What was it?" he asked.

Shirota kept his phone before turning to Aiba, walking back to the dining table. "We're presenting the video to the principal today at pre-homeroom..." he explained. "And it's best if you came along... to testify the contents of that video..."

"M-Me?" Aiba said in uncertainty. He thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Alright...then I guess it's best that we head to school as soon as we can..."

Shirota nodded as he finished his breakfast before getting a shower and changed into his uniform afterwards.

----------

Takigawa and Kimeru, after getting ready for school themselves, had just left the house and were on their way. "Moriyama-senpai's already contacted Ueshima-sensei and they're waiting outside the Principal's office," Takigawa said.

"You guys sure move fast...." Kimeru said.

Takigawa chuckled. "That's just how Moriyama-senpai operates," he said before they reached the school and parted ways.

----------

As soon as Shirota and Aiba reached school, they first placed their things in the classroom before making their way to the principal's office. Aiba held Shirota's hand along the way, not caring if others saw them.

It wasn't long before all three members of the Student Council, Aiba and Ueshima-sensei were outside the Principal's office, waiting for Takahiro-sensei to arrive.

"I'm sorry for having you come over like this so suddenly, Aiba-kun," Takigawa apologized, nodding to Aiba.

"It's fine Takigawa-senpai.....at least this time around someone else is with me..." Aiba said as he looked around apprehensively.

"Aiba-kun...." came a familiar voice which caused Aiba's grip on Shirota's hand tighten a bit more.

Shirota turned to see Takahiro-sensei, glaring over to him before he nodded out of courtesy. "Takahiro-sensei..." he greeted.

Takahiro smiled at them. "I have been informed by my co-workers to head here once I arrived. Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Aiba glared. _'As if you don't already know....'_ he thought darkly.

"Shall we be heading inside?" Moriyama announced. "So we can end this before homeroom period," he added before pushing the door open to the Principal's office as the group lined up and proceeded inside after the Student Council President.

The principal, Nobuyuki Tatsuo, looked up from his desk. He watched as the students came in, followed by Ueshima and Takahiro.

"Alright, now tell me what is this all about," he started. "...and this reason better be good to make me in early."

Moriyama stepped forward. "We'd like to issue a complaint against Takahiro-sensei," he began, gesturing to the aforementioned teacher. "The reason for this is because for the past few days, he's been harassing one of his students in particular."

"Harassing?" Nobuyuki asked as he looked at Takigawa. "And do you have any proof for this?"

Takahiro smirked inwardly.

Takigawa nodded. "We do, actually," he responded. "Three of them, in fact. The first is the testimony of the student concerned," he said, gesturing to Aiba. "Aiba Hiroki of first year section one, who is both a student under Takahiro-sensei in their class and a member of the School Paper. The second is the testimony of Shirota Yuu," he continued, gesturing to Shirota. "He was the one who saw Takahiro-sensei harassing Aiba-kun last Monday when club activities were in session in the School Paper office."

"The third is this video," Moriyama finished, holding up a CD. "This was taken yesterday afternoon when Aiba-kun was in detention with Takahiro-sensei."

Takahiro looked at Moriyama in surprise once the CD was mentioned.

Aiba didn't even look at him, his gaze fixed on the principal as this was going on.

"Very well...hand me that CD and I shall hear the testimonies afterward," Nobuyuki said as he took the CD from Moriyama. "Is it alright with you that we view this with them?" he asked Aiba who nodded quietly. Nobuyuki looked at the CD placing it in the player nearby.

The group watched the video from the TV as yesterday's events in Takahiro's office were revealed.

Shirota shut his eyes at some points, clutching onto Aiba's hand as he bit his lip. _'Darn it...'_ he cursed inwardly.

Aiba looked away from the screen, unable to watch the video. He looked at Shirota at one point and gently squeezed his hand to help reassure him.

Takahiro watched the video; no emotions could be seen in his face as the video ended.

"Takahiro...what have you got to say about this?" Nobuyuki asked.

Takahiro smiled at the students before looking at the principal. "It's obviously a ruse, Nobuyuki-san," he said and Nobuyuki nodded.

_'WHAT?!'_ Aiba thought in alarm.

"How is it a ruse, Takahiro-sensei?" Takigawa inquired before turning to the principal. "And quite frankly, just because you're related doesn't mean you have to take his side, kochou."

Takahiro chuckled as he directed their attention to the CD. "I can name a few reasons why it is clearly a ruse," he started. "One would be the fact that the video itself isn't clear. Second would be that the voices from the audio is also full of static and finally, the angle is taken from behind. The only thing we see about the one assaulting -or so you say- the student which is clearly Aiba-kun is his back."

Nobuyuki nodded when he heard this. "I'm afraid that he has a point," he said as he looked at the students once again.

"This was taken during detention in Takahiro-sensei's office, so it should be concluded that it was him!" Shirota told the principal, pointing accusingly over to the Math teacher.

Takigawa sighed. "I was hoping not to bring this up anymore and wanted a confession from this one video..." he started as he rummaged through his bag. "But since it would appear that we clearly won't be getting one from Takahiro-sensei at this point, I have no choice but to bring this into play." He pulled out a few other CDs from his bag. "There were a few other video cameras cleverly positioned inside Takahiro-sensei's office at that time, recording the very same event. One of these should reveal that Takahiro-sensei is the very same one who had assaulted Aiba-kun that afternoon."

Aiba inwardly sighed in relief when he heard this but froze as he felt someone pull him away from Shirota.

Everything was blurred for a few seconds and when everything cleared up he found that Takahiro had taken hold of him, a knife pointed at his neck. "I thought you would make this easy for me just like the other schools I went to...I guess not," Takahiro said.

"Akira...put the knife away..." Nobuyuki said as he stood up.

"Move and I slit his neck," Takahiro warned as he slowly stepped towards the door, taking Aiba with him. "Out of my way...." we told the rest.

"You don't have to do this, Takahiro-sensei..." Ueshima began, slowly stepping aside.

Takigawa turned to Takahiro. "Will you give it up already? The reason why you couldn't do as you did with the other students from the other schools you went to was because you chose the wrong student," he explained calmly. "I admit, if Shirota-kun was not as close to Aiba-kun as he was, there wouldn't be any immediate action taken against you."

"Well that's not my problem now, is it?" Takahiro said as he used his free hand to feel for the door knob behind him.

"Well that's not my problem now, is it?" Takahiro said as he used his free hand to feel for the door knob behind him.

"Akira...Continue this and I will have to call the authorities," Nobuyuki warned.

"Go ahead. I'll be gone before they arrive," he said. "You honestly think that I didn't have any back up plans in case something like this happened?"

A calm smile came across Takigawa's face. "And you thought _we_ didn't have such plans ourselves?" he said when a group of sirens echoed, coming towards the school as he pulled out his phone from his pocket, which was open, displaying the emergency number.

"Takigawa-senpai..." Shirota muttered in amazement before turning to Takahiro. "Let go of Hiroki right now!" he declared.

"You bunch of brats...." Takahiro muttered as he looked at them. He smirked when he heard Shirota speak up. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Shirota-kun," he said. "Aiba-kun over here will by my little exit ticket."

"Not if I can help it..." Shirota muttered before dashing forward in the blink of an eye - and he thanked his training for this - and swiftly managed to take hold of Takahiro's wrist holding the knife with both hands and twisted his arm before he could do anything.

Takahiro released the knife in surprise as Shirota twisted his arm. "You little--" whatever he was saying was cut off as Aiba turned around and kicked him where it hurts.

Soon after, the door burst open and the police came in and apprehended Takahiro. The principal – grudgingly - apologized to them for his ignorance on the matter and allowed them to return to their classes.

Moriyama excused himself from the others and headed off to his classroom as Ueshima-sensei, Shirota, Aiba and Takigawa headed off in the other direction.

"You never told me you had other cameras there, Takigawa-senpai," Shirota said.

Takigawa chuckled. "Oh, there weren't," he replied.

Ueshima smirked as he followed behind the three.

"Eh?!" Shirota declared.

"Those were just blank CDs. I'm surprised Takahiro bought it that they were other videos," Takigawa explained.

Aiba looked at Takigawa after a few moments. "Ne, Takigawa-senpai....could you do me a favor and destroy this CD?" he asked as he handed the CD back to Takigawa. It was returned to him before they left the principal's office.

Takigawa took the CD and nodded. "We'll pretend this never happened," he said with a smile. "Saa, I have to head this way," he said, pointing to another hallway leading to the second year classrooms. "I'll see you later, Shirotan, Aiba-kun." He turned to Ueshima-sensei and bowed before leaving.

"We still have some time for pre-homeroom," Ueshima-sensei reminded them before ushering them to their classroom.

"Ah, I have to pass out the surveys!" Shirota said, running ahead.

Aiba chuckled. "Count on him to remember his job at the last minute," he said.

----------

During lunch time, Aiba had dragged Shirota on the school rooftop to have lunch there. Kimeru had given him the copy of the key to the door so they had it all to themselves, though he wasn't sure if Kimeru and Takigawa would join them.

Shirota surveyed the rooftop for a minute with his packed lunch in one hand and Aiba's hand in the other. "This has quite a few memories, this place..." he said with a smile.

Aiba nodded. "Aa..." he said in agreement as he led Shirota to one of the areas there. "I'm glad it's over..." he said.

Shirota nodded, following Aiba. "So am I..." he said. "I was worried something might've happened to you…"

----------

Takigawa had met up with Kimeru during lunch and proceeded to tell him what had happened the morning while they headed to the rooftop.

Kimeru sighed. "Well at least the worse is over," he said. "Though that move you did was pretty cool. Who knew that the CD's you held were fake."

Takigawa chuckled. "I figured it needed to be done. I'm surprised they didn't bother checking it if it had any videos at all," he admitted.

Kimeru grinned. "It must be because he knew that he was already caught, Takahiro I mean."

----------

Aiba sighed as he stopped and pulled Shirota down to sit beside him. "Yuu…" he started, placing his hand on Shirota's cheek. "You know what? Even during the time when I was alone yesterday with that person...I had managed to keep myself together even now despite everything that had happened…and you know why is that?" he asked quietly. "That's because I knew that when everything was over you'd be there for me…"

Shirota smiled, placing his hand over Aiba's that was on his cheek. "Aa. And I always will be..." he said quietly.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" Aiba teased before pressing his forehead against Shirota's.

Shirota pressed his lips against Aiba's for a moment before replying, "No, but I'm glad you said so... Because I love you too."

----------

Takigawa nodded as they reached the door to the rooftop.

"Did we come at a bad time?" Kimeru asked as he saw the two.

Aiba immediately pulled away when he heard Kimeru's voice, a blush on his cheeks.

Startled, Shirota pulled back and rubbed the back of his head, blushing as well.

Takigawa smiled at the sight. "But I'm glad you've put that episode behind you already," he said. "You two sure know how to get ahead of us in that department," he teased.

Kimeru nodded. "They move faster than us in every aspect in my opinion," he said.

Aiba chuckled. "In any case, I'm glad that we could have lunch together again," he told the group.

Takigawa nodded. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said as he took his seat.

Shirota was scratching his cheek.

"What's wrong?" Takigawa inquired.

"Nothing..." Shirota replied. "I was just pondering on what you guys said earlier..."

Kimeru looked at Shirota as he sat down. "What about it?" he asked.

Aiba, curious about it as well, looked at Shirota too.

"You and Kimeru-senpai... Began spending time with one another way before Hiroki and I did..." Shirota began. "It didn't take long before it was out that you two were together... But... why haven't you--"

Takigawa smiled at this before moving to mess up the boy's hair, who only blushed at the gesture. "Shirotan... I'm thankful you're concerned, at least," he said before turning to Kimeru.

Kimeru chuckled. _'He has absolutely no idea on how far Eiji and I have gone, hasn't he?'_ he thought in amusement.

Aiba looked at his two senpais. "...you two haven't....?" he asked incredulously.

Takigawa smiled. "We'll let you two think whatever you like," he said before moving his attention to his lunch. "Saa, let's eat!"

Aiba looked at Shirota before shrugging. "Itadakimasu~" he said before starting on his lunch.

Kimeru smirked. "Saa...let's eat then."

Shirota looked to the others before sighing, attending to his own lunch. "Itadakimasu~"

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	10. The Buddy Auction

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 10th chapter entitled **The Buddy Auction**. This chapter focuses on the fund-raising project initiated by the Student Council for a Buddy Auction, auctioning off the top ten most popular students of the Senior High to the other students and get them have them for a buddy the whole week.

We see a slight development between Takigawa and Kimeru in this chapter with the exchanges amongst the band club about Kimeru and when Takigawa manages to get a sprain during basketball practice that Kimeru tries to expose it when the Student Council Vice President passes it off as nothing serious.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The next few days went by quickly and soon, everyone returned to their respective routines. About two weeks before exams, there was an assembly called by the Student Council. This event particularly surprised the members of the student body since there wasn't any rumor going around of such an event.

"Bidding?" Endo echoed as he looked at Moriyama who was explaining to his fellow students about the event.

Aiba frowned; he didn't like the sound of things. Apparently the teachers had found a way to collect funds from the students, and that idea was this "Buddy Auction". The program included the 10 most popular students in the Senior High department. These students would be 'auctioned' off to the rest of the student body and the winner would have the privilege of being the 'buddy' of the person he bid for for the entire week. The bad thing was, Aiba hadn't seen Shirota since the start of the assembly and he had the sinking feeling that he would find his boyfriend on stage in a little while.

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Kimeru was now with nine other people backstage; apparently he had been selected to be one of the ten who would be auctioned off, and he didn't like it one bit. He looked around and saw that some of the people there looked the same way he did.

Only one person stood out. This person, for one reason or another, seemed very confident that he'd end up with a person he likes. _'Then again...' _Kimeru thought _'If I were him I'd be pretty confident too...'_

Moriyama went backstage to meet the ten students, beaming at them. "Alright, procedure's simple enough. Takigawa-kun will be announcing the order in which you'll walk out on stage. So just go when you hear your name. There're chairs there for you to sit down so you don't need to worry about standing the whole time," he explained to them.

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On stage, Takigawa moved to the podium with the list. He had smiled at the rankings before he cleared his throat, looking over to the rest of the student body before he began. "These are the results of the poll that was taken a few weeks ago. Taking 10th place, we have Aoyama Sota from second year, section 3."

Sota stepped out and crossed the stage to a round of applause.

"9th place is Araki Hirofumi from first year, section 2," Takigawa continued.

Araki followed not long after, moving to his spot alongside Sota.

"In 8th place, we have Yanagi Kotaro from first year, section 1."

Moriyama gestured Yanagi to go as the freshman stepped onto the stage, walking over to his seat.

"7th place is Nakagauchi Masataka from second year, section 3."

Toru smiled at the sight as Nakagauchi strolled into view, waving at the crowd.

"6th place is Tsuchiya Yuuichi from second year, section 1."

Tuti entered from backstage, nodding to Takigawa as he headed to his seat.

"5th place, we have Date Koji from first year, section 2."

Moriyama gave Koji a little push as he stumbled slightly, but managed to compose himself as he nodded to the audience before moving to his seat beside Tuti.

"4th place, we have Suzuki Hiroki from first year, section 1."

Shirota and Kentarou both gave Zukki a thumbs-up as he walked onto the stage.

"3rd place we have Kanesaki Kentarou from first year, section 2."

Shirota patted his teammate on the shoulder before he followed after Zukki.

"2nd place we have the Student Council's Shirota Yuu from first year, section 1."

Shirota looked over his shoulder to Kimeru, grinning before he walked out on stage.

Aiba groaned inwardly. _'I knew it.....'_ he thought before consulting his wallet.

"And finally, in 1st place, we have Kimeru from second year, section 3," Takigawa finished, the announcement of each student as it progressed got louder and louder before Kimeru walked out on stage to take his seat.

Kimeru grinned as he went on stage. He waved to his schoolmates and glanced at Takigawa pointedly at one point.

Takigawa nodded to Kimeru as he turned back to the student body, who settled down after a while. "We'll now begin the Buddy Auction starting with Sota-kun. The starting bid for each candidate is 100 yen. Who'd like to start?"

"150!" A random second year said.

"250!" called out another, who turned out to be Irei as his friends gave him weird looks. "What?" he asked.

"350!!" A senior shouted as he raised his hand.

Naoya frowned, he would end up missing lunch at this rate but he really wanted to spend some time with Sota. After making some quick calculations he raised his hand. "500!"

"I hear 500 from Gomoto Naoya!" Takigawa said, looking around for any more raised hands. "Are there any more takers to go above 500? Going once... going twice..." Takigawa smiled and took out a gavel, knocking it once. "And we have Naoya-kun! Please drop your payments in the box located here by the podium and pick up your buddy for the week on stage."

Naoya stood and crossed the row before moving forward, taking his wallet out and pulled out the promised payment before walking over to Sota, who smiled at this gesture before the two moved to sit down with the rest of the audience.

Takigawa nodded before continuing. "Next, we have Ara-yan. Again, bids begin at 100 yen!"

Naoya managed to get a place next to Kujirai once he returned with Sota. "Oi...hear that? It's Araki…" he said with a grin.

Kujirai looked at him as he listened to the the bids go higher. "So...?"

Naoya shook his head. "Not my fault if he spends less time with you this week," he said offhandedly.

Kujirai's eyes widened as he looked at Araki on stage. He hissed in frustration. "Darn it..." he muttered. "550!" he shouted, making some people stare at him in surprise.

Takigawa smiled. "I hear 550 from Kujirai Kousuke! Any more takers?" he inquired, looking around. "No one?" After a few more seconds, he struck his gavel. "Very well, then! With a bid of 550 yen, Kujirai-kun gets to have Ara-yan as a buddy for the week!" he announced. As soon as Kujirai came up on stage to pay and pick up Araki, Takigawa looked over to the candidates before continuing. "Next we have Yanagi-kun!" he looked over to Moriyama who was sitting in the front row.

"200!" Endo called immediately.

"350!" A second year student announced.

"400!" Another first year called.

Moriyama raised a hand up. "700!"

Takigawa chuckled as the student body turned to their Student Council president in surprise - except for those who took part in the musical - for participating at all. "I hear 700 from our dear President. Do I hear any higher bids?" A moment of silence passed in the area. "None? Then Moriyama Eiji-senpai wins Yanagi-kun for his buddy with a bid of 700 yen!" Promptly after Moriyama and put the money in the box and led Yanagi off-stage - much to the cheers of the student body -, Takigawa continued. "Next! Nakagauchi-kun!"

Toru frowned as Nakagauchi was called up. The morning before the assembly, Nakagauchi had taken his allowance and threatened to spend it all for lunch if he didn't bid for him. _'As if I'd be able to get it back anyway...' _he thought to himself as he waited for the bids to stop.

When he heard someone say 550 and noticed that there was no one else bidding her raised his hand. "650," he raised.

"A raise to 650 from Baba Toru!" Takigawa exclaimed. "Any more takers?" When no one raised their hand, Takigawa struck his gavel. "Toru-kun takes Nakagauchi-kun for 650!" The exchange of the money was made - which strangely but stealthily came from Nakagauchi's pocket -, before the two left, cuing Takigawa to continue. "Next up is Tuti-kun!"

"Yosh!" Nagayan cheered from his place with the band club. "200," he said immediately as he raised his hand.

Daisuke looked at him before smirking. "300!" he called out.

"What?!" Nagayan said as he glared at Daisuke who winked at him.

"No way I'm letting you win!!" Nagayan said. "400!!"

Konishi shook his head as he watched the two continue to raise the price.

"650!!" Nagayan called out and before Daisuke could say anything Furukawa clamped a hand over his mouth. "Let it go Daisuke...he's too determined," he said with a smile.

Shirota chuckled at this development going on amongst the band club before he looked over to Takigawa, who announced that Nagayan had won the bid.

"The last person I'll be hosting the bids for is Koji-kun!" Takigawa continued as Nagayan and Tuti got off the stage.

Kenken's eyes went wide when he saw Koji. "KOJI!!" he exclaimed, making people stare at him in surprise.

"I swear I didn't know Kenken!!" Koji answered from the stage.

Aiba fought down his laughter as he heard this exchange. _'Those two...dead obvious...'_ he thought in amusement.

The bidding started, though it seemed that everyone was deliberately keeping their bids low...until Kenken finished checking his allowance. "500!!" he yelled.

Takigawa nodded, striking his gavel without having to check for any more takers. "Kamakari Kenta wins the bid for Koji-kun!" he announced. Once the exchange was made Takigawa switched places with Moriyama, who moved up to the podium.

"I'll be continuing where Takigawa-kun left off with hosting the bids," Moriyama announced, nodding to the audience before he began. "Bids for Zukki-kun!"

Aiba looked at the seat next to him where Adachi was supposed to be. Unfortunately the boy had to rush to the bathroom. He sighed. _'Might as well....'_ he thought as he raised his hand. "300," he raised immediately.

"500!" A senior called out, causing Aiba to raise an eyebrow, _'Huh?'_ he thought.

"550!" A second year called out.

"600!!!" Adachi announced as he made a dramatic entrance by pushing the doors open before shouting his bid.

Aiba smirked. "Adachi...way to make an entrance..." he muttered.

Moriyama struck the gavel as soon as he confirmed that no other higher bids were to be made. Adachi moved up the stage to deposit his bid to the box and stepped down with Zukki before Moriyama nodded, looking over to the remaining candidates. "Next is Kentarou-kun!"

A few bids were made across the years; a fellow freshman started off the bid with 200, while a second year raised it to 375. A senior raised it to 500. There was a debate as the bid slowly increased to 800, made by Irei.

Irei turned to his friends. "What? He's a teammate of mine!" he reasoned.

Yagami smiled in his seat as he listened to the bids increase. When there was silence, he rose to his feet, raising his hand. "1000!" This announcement caused everyone to jump back in surprise at how high the bid was. Kentarou blushed at this, scratching his cheek distractedly as Moriyama's gavel was heard.

"Congratulations! And with an auction high bid of 1000 yen, Yagami Ren wins over Kentarou-kun!" Moriyama announced excitedly. When Yagami and Kentarou were heading back to the audience, Moriyama looked over to Shirota and Kimeru. "And now we've come down to the final two! Taking 2nd place in the popularity poll, let's start off the bid for Shirota-kun!"

Aiba fixed his gaze on Shirota on stage. He grinned as the bids came up. Less than a minute had passed and the bids had already reached 1000 and showed no signs of stopping.

"You're not going to bid?" Zukki asked from beside Adachi.

"In a while..." Aiba said as he listened for any more bids, but none came. When Moriyama was about to announce the close of the bid for Shirota, Aiba raised a hand. "3000," he called out, making a lot of people turn their heads to look at him. Even his classmates were staring at him in shock.

Shirota blinked, the number sounding oddly familiar as Moriyama's gavel cut through his thoughts. "A new auction high bid of 3000!" Moriyama announced. "Please come up and pick-up your buddy for the week, Aiba-kun!"

Takigawa smiled. _'That wasn't surprising, considering that Aiba offered to pay the bill when we ate out,'_ he thought to himself before looking over to Kimeru. He had checked his wallet earlier before he left the house, so he had a pretty good idea how much he was planning to bid.

When Shirota and Aiba were on their way back to sit down, Moriyama gestured to Kimeru. "I present to you the 1st placer in our popularity poll, Kimeru-kun! Saa, let the bets begin!"

Kimeru was getting more agitated as the people on the stage lessened. He was a bit surprised when he heard the bet for Shirota but then again it was expected. He had known that Aiba was well-off based on his stuff in the dorms.

The bids raised to 2000 much sooner than he liked. Though he admitted to himself that it wouldn't be bad to spend a week with someone who wasn't part of his circle of friends, he also thought that it would be very awkward because since he and Takigawa became an item. He didn't really like the idea of spending periods of time away from the boy than necessary. He took a deep breath as the bids stopped at 2500 from a random senior student.

When the bids stopped, Moriyama was about to strike his gavel when Takigawa raised a hand. "3500," he called, causing everybody to look over in his direction as he got to his feet.

Shirota, who was somewhere in the back with Aiba, chuckled. "Eiji-kun's pretty well-off himself, considering he lives alone most of the time and manages his parent's house on his own," he explained.

"I noticed based on the price he gave," Aiba said. "...and here I thought I would set the record," he said with a grin as he shook his head.

Kimeru's eyes widened when he heard the price. _'What the?!'_ he thought in surprise.

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Moriyama struck his gavel. "We end this auction with an auction high bid of 3500 yen from Takigawa-kun!" he announced proudly as Takigawa went up on stage, depositing the money in the box before approaching Kimeru, smiling.

"Surprised?" he asked as there was a loud cheer from their schoolmates.

Kimeru nodded slowly, still a bit surprised by the outcome.

Takigawa took Kimeru's hand and pulled him down the stage. "You didn't think I'd let anybody else have you for a week, did you?" he mused.

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Aiba blinked as he stared at Shirota. "Really? Now that's interesting…" he said.

"Was that planned or did it depend on your allowance?" Shirota inquired.

Aiba grinned. "Pure coincidence Yuu..." he said. "But at least now I have technically paid you back for that."

Shirota nodded. "Aa, we can say you have."

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Kimeru smiled. "To be honest I thought you would but I'm glad about the outcome, nonetheless," he told him.

Takigawa chuckled. "I could already imagine Shirotan coming up to me about it if I didn't make a bid. Besides, I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't have you for a 'buddy'," he said.

Kimeru smirked. "So, Eiji-sama...what plans do you have for this week now that you have me as your buddy?" he teased.

Takigawa smirked. "You'll find out after classes are over with, Kime," he said slyly.

Kimeru grinned. "If you say so," he chided.

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Aiba chuckled as he looked at the stage once more where the teachers were giving final announcements.

After the assembly, the students were given the opportunity to have an early break since the event had already taken up most of the time of the morning classes.

Yagami smiled as he strolled over to where Shirota and Aiba were. "Shirota-kun...have you seen Kanesaki-kun?" he asked the varsity player.

Shirota turned to Yagami and looked around for a moment. "Well, if I know him, he's probably in one of the courtyards..." he replied.

"Arigatou, Shirota-kun. I'll be seeing you two around then," Yagami said with a nod before walking off.

Aiba blinked. "People have been acting strange since the bidding…" he said as he looked around.

"KENKEN!!" Koji called out brightly as he passed by the door in search for his buddy.

"See what I mean?" Aiba said with a sigh.

"Oi, those two were already obvious from the first few days..." Shirota said defensively, referring to KenKen and Koji. "And it wasn't much of a surprise for the other pairs as well."

"True....but there is one pair that surprised me..." Aiba said as he thought for a moment. "Who would have thought that Naoya-senpai would bid for Sota-senpai?" he mused.

Shirota chuckled. "They're a bit similar to Kujirai-senpai and Ara-yan," he said.

Aiba laughed at the thought. "That's true in a way..." he said in amusement.

Shirota chuckled before turning to Aiba. "So do you have anything in mind for the week?" he inquired.

"I'd be lying if I told you that I do..." Aiba admitted in embarrassment. "...but I figured that we'd think of something way or another."

Shirota nodded. "Aa. I'd be leaving the decisions to you for this week, then," he said.

"Sure," Aiba replied with a smile.

For the past few weekends, Takigawa had started giving Kimeru the cooking lessons he was asking for. He was planning on continuing those tonight to start off to see how far Kimeru's progressed. _'It'd be interesting to watch him cook up our dinner...'_ he told himself with a chuckle.

"If you were going to make something tonight for dinner, what would it be?" Takigawa asked Kimeru randomly.

Kimeru thought for a moment. "If I had the ingredients I want to try making tempura..." he answered. "Why?"

Takigawa chuckled. "We've got ingredients at home for that," he reassured him. "And I asked because _you'll_ be making dinner tonight."

Kimeru blinked a few times before looking at him. "Seriously?" he asked in bewilderment before smiling widely. "Yosh! Then I'll do my best!"

Takigawa nodded. "I'll be there to help you out, of course," he reminded the boy.

Kimeru nodded eagerly.

"What's this? Kime knows how to cook?" Nagayan asked as he appeared behind the two with Tuti beside him.

Takigawa looked over to Nagayan and smiled. "Just recently," he answered.

"Aww... Kime-hime is becoming the perfect wife," Nagayan teased. Kimeru glared at him before punching him as Nagayan dodged easily, a grin on his lips.

Takigawa and Tuti looked at each other, chuckling.

Kimeru and Nagayan continued their little punch-dodge game for a while and ended only when Furukawa and Daisuke came and forced them apart.

"Seriously, just because Nagayan mentioned that..." Takigawa scolded, shaking his head.

Kimeru calmed down. "That guy just knows how to get to me..." he reasoned.

Nagayan stuck his tongue out. "Only telling the truth, Kime," he teased.

Takigawa held Kime back before he could lunge at Nagayan a second time. "Leave it!" he said firmly. "At this rate I'll end up having to be one to cook dinner again."

Kimeru stopped his actions once he heard this. "G-Gomen...." he said quietly, making his friends stare at him.

_'DID HE JUST APOLOGIZE?!'_ they thought.

Takigawa nodded before releasing his hold on Kimeru. "Saa, it's about time for the next period. I'll see you at lunch, Kime," he said, taking his leave as he headed back to his classroom.

Kimeru nodded before turning around to go to his own classroom, his friends that were in the same class following him.

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After the classes of the day were done, Aiba was once again with the soccer team, watching their practices while taking pictures.

"Over here, Kenken!" Shirota called as he waved a hand up, running downfield. Kenken passed the ball to him as he brought the ball forward and passed over to Kentarou, who finished the play with a beautiful goal.

"That was a good play!" Wada called out. "Next one, then!"

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Takigawa was in the gym, playing a practice match with the first and second teams as the captain was out sick today. "Ara-yan! Move around some more!" he called out, watching the flow of the game and giving instructions to everybody to improve their defense or execute any shots better for both sides.

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Kimeru was practicing with the band. They were preparing some songs for the faculty assembly that weekend. Kimeru sighed as he put down the mic. "Guys...can anyone tell me why we're singing 70's songs?" he asked.

Konishi smiled. "Principal?"

"Oh yeah..."

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"Last one!" Wada called out.

"Hai!" the rest replied.

"Make those passes quick now!"

The pass started from Irei at the goal area, who passed it to Kujirai, who passed it to Zukki, and continued Kenken, then Shirota, and finally to Kentarou, who shot it into the opposite goal.

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"Yosh! Training's over!" Takigawa announced as the rest fell to the floor while others headed off to the locker room.

"Oi, Takigawa," Naoya called, walking up to him.

"Doushita, Naoya-kun?" he inquired.

"Your foot alright? You didn't twist it earlier, did you?"

Takigawa looked down at his feet and took a few moments to tap them on the floor. "They're fine."

Naoya nodded before leaving the gym. Takigawa watched him leave before he sighed, sitting himself on the bench.

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Aiba was taking pictures when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked around and saw Yagami smiling at him. "Yagami-senpai...What brings you here?" he asked.

Yagami chuckled and silently pointed to Kentarou.

Aiba blinked. "Oh....."

When soccer practice was over, Shirota looked over to where Aiba was and saw Yagami-senpai. Chuckling, he nudged Kentarou in the ribs. "Oi, someone's come to pick you up," he teased.

Kentarou looked over and saw Yagami. "Aa... He invited me to have dinner with him tonight..." he said as he packed up his things and went ahead to get changed.

Shirota chuckled. _'Dinner, huh?'_ Shirota proceeded to do the same and followed after Kentarou to the locker room.

Aiba waited with Yagami for the varsity team by the practice area.

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Kimeru and his group finished up early, so he decided to surprise Takigawa at the courts. He peeked inside and saw Takigawa by the bench. "Yo!" he called out as he picked up a basketball that was by the door.

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru and smiled. "We just finished ourselves," he said as he got to his feet, stumbling slightly before managing to get his balance. _'That was weird...'_ he thought to himself, looking down at his feet before he went to approach Kimeru. "I just need to clear things up here and change so we can get back home."

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Shirota and Kentarou had both finished changing back into their uniforms before deciding to accompany one another as they got out and saw Aiba and Yagami and headed in their direction.

Yagami waved at the two as he saw them approach.

Aiba, who couldn't resist the moment, took a picture of them approaching. _'That one is going straight to my portfolio,'_ he thought.

Shirota rubbed his eyes as they walked up to them. "Oi, why'd you go and take a picture like that?" Shirota whined.

Aiba looked at the screen of the camera. "Sorry...the scenery was just perfect," he explained.

Shirota frowned as Yagami and Kentarou announced their leave. "You still could've said something..." Shirota reasoned.

"What would I say? 'Oi Yuu! Say cheese!'?" Aiba asked.

Shirota chuckled. "No, not exactly. I was thing more along the lines of 'Don't move!' and your camera goes off," he said.

Aiba grinned. "I'll do that next time. So let's go home?" he asked.

Shirota looked around before nodded. "Aa, let's," he said in reply.

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Takigawa looked at Kimeru. "What are you talking about?" he said, pulling his wrist from his grip and took the basketball from him. "I'm perfectly fine," he insisted, moving back to put the ball back with the others.

Kimeru said nothing as he looked around the court. He spotted another ball nearby and he dropped his bag near the bench before going over to get it. "Oi Eiji...would you mind playing with me for a bit?" he asked with a grin.

Takigawa put the ball away before turning to Kimeru and smiling. "Are you sure you're up to that?" he inquired cheekily.

Kimeru grinned as he started dribbling the ball. "I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't" he said.

Takigawa nodded before he got into a defensive position. "Come on, then."

Kimeru smirked before he started his offense, faking a shot before moving around Takigawa to score a point.

Takigawa watched as Kimeru faked the shot he was attempting to block and moved around to score. He smirked before retrieving the ball. "Not bad. You didn't really look like the type to be involved in sports," he pointed out, passing the ball back to him. "One more, then," he said. _'Looks like I underestimated you. But... even if I knew you were going to move past me, I couldn't move myself... That's strange...'_ He shook his head._'No need to think about things like that,'_ he told himself firmly, holding his hands out. "Koi!"

Kimeru smirked as he caught the ball. "You're going easy on me..." he said. "Don't hold anything back, Eiji!" He ran to the sidelines, swerving around Takigawa. _'That's strange, he could have already blocked me....unless I'm right in thinking...'_ he thought as he attempted a three point shot.

Takigawa followed Kimeru before the pain sank in on his right foot, causing him to stumble a second time, losing his balance. Gritting his teeth, he used his left foot and launched himself into the air to block Kimeru's shot, tapping the ball out of his hands before he landed rough on the ground, rolling to a stop as he clutched at his right ankle.

The ball bounced off the ring and Kimeru went over to Takigawa. He frowned as he bent down and swatted Takigawa's hand away from his ankle.

"Well, Eiji...that looks like a sprain to me," he said sternly as he looked at the ankle that was slightly swollen. He silently helped Takigawa to the bench and eased him down. "Where do you keep the first aid kit?" he asked, voice still firm.

Takigawa was panting before pointing over to the other bench not far away. "Under there," he replied.

Kimeru stood up and walked to the bench. After retrieving the first aid kit he immediately tended to Takigawa's foot. After placing a bandage around it Kimeru looked at Takigawa. "What's your locker combination? I'm getting your things so you won't have to walk more than necessary," he explained.

Takigawa blinked before the doors opened as Naoya came forward, dressed in his uniform before approaching them. "Here," he said, holding out Takigawa's bags to Kimeru. "Don't overexert yourself, Takigawa..." he said, looking over to his teammate and noticed the bandage on his foot.

Takigawa nodded. "Gomen, Naoya-kun," he muttered. "And to you too, Kime..."

Kimeru sighed heavily before taking Takigawa's bags. "It's fine....just don't deny any more injuries in the future," he said. "...and even if you do I have ways to find out, just like I did today," he warned before pulling out his phone.

Takigawa nodded sheepishly as Naoya went ahead and left.

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Aiba's phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. They were just at the school gates by then before he frowned. "Kimeru-senpai says that we have to go to the basketball court," he relayed to Shirota.

Shirota nodded as he led the way to the courts. As soon as they arrived, he looked around and spotted them. "Eiji-kun!" he exclaimed, jogging up to them. "What happened?" he asked.

"He sprained his ankle and he had been denying that fact for the past 5 minutes," Kimeru answered flatly. "Can you help us carry our stuff back home? I'll can support him but it would be hard with the bags," he explained.

Aiba nodded, "I can take your bag, Kimeru-senpai," he said before taking Kimeru's bag.

"I can help with Eiji-kun's, Kimeru-senpai..." Shirota offered.

Kimeru nodded."Thanks you two.." he said before handing Shirota Takigawa's bags before helping Takigawa up. "Saa....Let's go!"

Shirota took Takigawa's things before he and Aiba fell into step with Kimeru and Takigawa as they left the courts.

Takigawa distributed his weight so that he didn't have to put too much pressure on his injured foot and supported himself with his other foot as they walked.

"What happened?" Shirota inquired, adjusting his hold on the two gym bags and book bags with him.

"I think it was during the last few minutes of our practice game..." Takigawa said, wincing from time to time when he accidentally lowered his injured foot more than he meant to. "I landed badly and twisted my foot in the process. The pain didn't really sink in before Kimeru and I had a little game just now..."

Kimeru frowned as he assisted Takigawa, placing the boy's arm around his shoulders. "Lean on me," he said as they walked on.

Aiba looked at Kimeru for a while before grinning. _'Now THIS is a first...'_ he thought.

"Seriously... I can help you, Kimeru-senpai..." Shirota offered hesitantly.

Kimeru grinned at him. "Believe me Shirota-kun...I'm stronger than I look," he said reassuringly.

Shirota nodded. "A...Aa..."

The rest of the trip to Takigawa's place was spent in silence. Shirota moved forward and opened the door with his set of keys before opening the door and held it up for the others to come inside.

Kimeru eased Takigawa on the couch before taking a seat beside him. "So what have we learned today?" he asked Takigawa.

Aiba smiled inwardly.

Takigawa heaved a huge sigh. "Not to hide any injuries from you..." he muttered.

Shirota closed the door and took Kimeru's bags from Aiba and proceeded to bring Kimeru and Takigawa's bags upstairs.

"Do you need anymore help around here senpai?" Aiba asked Kimeru.

Kimeru shook his head. "I can take it from here. Thanks, you two," he said with a smile.

Shirota returned from downstairs before retrieving his own bag. He nodded to Takigawa with a warm smile. "Alright, then. We'll be going ahead, Eiji-kun... Kimeru-senpai," he announced before turning to Aiba and headed to the door.

Kimeru nodded at them as they left. "Now...I'll go start on dinner as we have originally planned...so sit back relax and don't put any more strain on that foot than necessary, Eiji-_sama,_" he said before standing up and heading to the kitchen.

Takigawa watched as Kimeru moved to the kitchen. "Jyoto..." he called, but trailed off before sighing, glaring over to his bandaged foot. _'I blame you for this...'_ he said to himself.

----------

"You think they're going to be fine?" Aiba asked as they walked away from the house.

Shirota nodded. "As long as Eiji-kun doesn't go walking around needlessly, they'll be fine," he said.

"Well, based on how Kimeru-senpai was acting I don't think that it will be anytime soon." Aiba said as they reached Shirota's house. "Well...I'll see you tomorrow then."

Shirota nodded. "Aa. See you tomorrow, Hiroki," he greeted as he pulled out his house keys.

----------

Kimeru looked around the kitchen and prepared everything he needed for making the two of them dinner before starting.

----------

Takigawa wondered what he could do while waiting before Pearl came into the living room. He smiled and held a hand out as she approached. Takigawa took her up onto the couch with him and set her on his lap, stroking her.

As soon as Kimeru was done making dinner he sighed. "I hope I did it right..." he muttered to himself before putting the tempura on a serving plate and bringing it out to the dining room. He returned to the kitchen to look for a tray to use so that Takigawa wouldn't have to move from the living room. After a while, he went over to Takigawa, holding a tray that contained both their dinners.

Takigawa saw Kimeru from the corner of his eye and set Pearl down after one last pat on the head as the Yorkshire ran off. "I hope nothing broke while I wasn't around in there?" he teased lightly as he took a moment to look at the food Kimeru had managed to make.

Kimeru placed the tray down on the coffee table and playfully punched him on the arm. "Baka..." he muttered. "Here....I'm not sure if I got it right though..." he said as he handed Takigawa a plate.

Takigawa nodded. "I'm sure it didn't turn out too bad..." he said as he took his chopsticks and reached out for a piece of tempura, dipped it in the sauce and took a bite. After swallowing, Takigawa turned to Kimeru. "It's just the use of the batter that's lacking to make the tempura crispier in appearance," he explained before breaking into a smile. "Otherwise it's fine," he said with a nod of approval.

Kimeru sighed in relief. "At least I didn't burn anything..." he muttered before starting to eat.

Takigawa smiled. "Aa. And that," he added. "Good work, Kime," he said brightly, continuing to eat the rest of the tempura along with the rice eagerly.

Kimeru smiled before eating his share of the dinner. Naturally, he was also the one who took care of the dishes before going back to help Takigawa upstairs.

When they had reached Takigawa's room, they moved inside as Kimeru helped him onto his bed. "Arigatou..." Takigawa said as soon as he got his foot up and looked over to Kimeru, smiling softly.

Kimeru smiled back at him. "No problem Eiji..." he said before setting up the futon.

Takigawa watched Kimeru set up the futon. When he was done, Takigawa pulled Kimeru to sit down on the bed with him. "Gomen... I didn't want to worry you with this earlier on..." he said quietly, taking Kimeru's hand with both his own.

Kimeru shook his head. "I told you, it's fine..." he said. "After all...injuries like this can't be avoided especially if you're playing a sport regularly," he explained. "If anything, I'm the one who should be sorry because even if I was aware of your injury I still made you play...so....gomen."

Takigawa kissed Kimeru's hand. "To be honest, it really started to show after you had me start playing..." he admitted. "But this is nothing..." he said, nudging over to his foot. "So I'll be alright..."

Kimeru sighed in relief. "Just be careful next time..." he muttered.

"Hai, _okaasan_," Takigawa teased.

Kimeru glared at him. "..Me?" he asked.

"Forget I said anything," Takigawa said before pulling Kimeru into a kiss.

All thoughts of any possible retort to what Takigawa said flew out of Kimeru's mind the moment that their lips met. He placed his arms around Takigawa and pulled himself closer to him as he kissed back.

"Oi, Yuu! Breakfast is ready!" Jun called from downstairs.

Shirota got himself dressed into his uniform as he stifled a yawn, making his way downstairs with his book bag. He was up finishing his assignments before he sank into a chair at the dinner table. "You usually don't wake up early to make breakfast..." Shirota pointed out.

Jun set down the toast in front of the boy. "Excuse me for being nice today, lil' bro," he said bluntly, messing up Shirota's hair.

----------

Aiba yawned as he finished his breakfast. "Couldn't sleep last night?" Hinako asked him.

"Yuu's fault for popping into my head every now and then..." he muttered sleepily.

----------

"Ja, itekimasu!" Shirota called, pulling his shoes on as he left the house early to check up on Takigawa as he passed by his house.

----------

Takigawa was downstairs eating some breakfast at the dinner table. He was able to convince Kimeru that he'd go to school that day with the help of some crutches he had used before when he had a similar injury last year. He was just taking his last bite when the doorbell rang.

Kimeru, who had just stepped out of the bedroom, was fixing his necktie when he heard the doorbell ring. He grabbed his bag near the door and went downstairs.

Takigawa finished his food and wiped his mouth as he took his crutches and got himself up before he moved across the room to the door and pulled it open.

Shirota smiled. "Ohayou, Eiji-kun~" he greeted. "I see you've pulled those out again," he said, pointing to the crutches.

"I can't really miss school today since we have a quiz for Modern Japanese," Takigawa reasoned. "I had to insist on it since Kimeru told me to take the day off today."

Shirota chuckled. "Well, I know you wouldn't be one to miss out a day of school just because of a sprain."

"Ohayou~" Kimeru called out as he joined the two downstairs. He looked at Takigawa's crutches for a moment before sighing. "Are you sure you don't want to skip classes?" he asked. "The teacher can give you a make-up quiz..."

Takigawa turned to Kimeru and nodded. "I'll be fine," he reassured him. "Besides, there're a few other things I need to attend to that I can't leave to anybody else," he explained, turning to Shirota.

Shirota blinked. "That's because Moriyama-senpai's starting to get busy studying for college entrance exams as well, isn't it?" he said. "And you don't trust me to take care of things on the Council on my own yet."

Takigawa laughed. "Exactly."

Kimeru sighed. "Can anybody tell me why our school only has three active council members again?" he asked.

Takigawa and Shirota looked over to Kimeru. "A representative from each year is represented in the council," they said in unison.

"Plus it's easier to handle things and get in contact with one another," Shirota added before taking Takigawa's bag. "Shall we get going?" he offered.

Kimeru looked at the two before shaking his head. "I guess that's it. Anyway... thanks for the help, Shirotan~" he said.

Shirota nodded. "No problem, Kimeru-senpai," he said before stepping aside, allowing Takigawa and Kimeru to step out first.

"You always insisted in helping me when it came to sprains..." Takigawa said as soon as they had left the house and were on their way to school.

"That's because you were always getting yourself injured before," Shirota scolded.

Kimeru chuckled. "It's all thanks to that sport of yours...now I remember why I didn't like sports in the first place," he said fondly.

Shirota smiled. "Well, we each have our own interests," he said. "And when Eiji-kun and I started playing seriously with our respective sports by joining the varsity teams, we knew we'd end up having a few injuries every now and then."

Kimeru nodded. "I guess I have to tell Aiba to expect you to be injured once in a while, then," he teased.

"I'm sure he does. After all, he spends time with the soccer team during practice," Shirota said.

"He does?" Kimeru asked. "Oh yeah...he's been assigned to cover the varsity soccer team by the paper..." he said as he remembered what Aiba had told him a few months back.

----------

It wasn't long before they arrived at the school. Shirota accompanied Takigawa to his classroom, handing over the older boy's bag to him as soon as he took his seat.

"Ja, I'll be going off to my classroom, Takigawa-senpai," Shirota said, nodding.

"We've got a meeting with Moriyama-senpai after classes, Shirotan. Don't forget," Takigawa called.

Shirota waved a hand over his shoulder as he left. "Hai, hai."

----------

When Aiba saw Shirota enter the room he smiled at him. "Ohayou~" he greeted. "Am I right in assuming that you fetched Takigawa-senpai before heading here?" he asked.

Shirota approached his desk and nodded, setting down his bag. "Aa. It's become a habit between us when the other gets injured," he explained.

Aiba nodded. "Well...that's understandable since the two of you are childhood friends," he said.

Shirota smiled, nodding.

----------

"I'm surprised you still wanted to come to school today, Takigawa," Toru said as he passed his desk.

"There're a few things I need to take care of," Takigawa replied.

"But it's the first time this school year, isn't it?" Tuti said conversationally as Takigawa nodded.

----------

Kimeru looked at his desk and felt a migraine coming. "Alright...who did this?" he asked as he looked at his usually organized desk covered in white paint. Daisuke and Nagayan pointed at one another as Kimeru glared at them. "You guys....are so dead," he muttered.

--------

Aiba looked out the window and grinned at what he saw. Over at the track oval, Kimeru was holding his guitar in the air while chasing Nagayan and Daisuke.

Shirota followed Aiba's gaze and blinked. "Honestly, they should be glad it's early in the morning or else someone will scold them for being out there when they're supposed to be inside..." he said.

Aiba nodded. "I wonder what they did this time..." he wondered out loud.

Shirota headed back to his desk. "Saa..."

* * *

TBC

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	11. Doom, Gloom and Regret

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 11th chapter entitled **Doom, Gloom and Regret**. This chapter introduces us to an avid admirer of Aiba and threatens Shirota to stay away from him. This rift causes both Shirota and Aiba to move away for quite some time, ultimately ticking off Kimeru who decides to do something about it and tries to get the two back together. To do this, the band vocalist makes use of the empty band club studio.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The rest of the day proceeded like normal. It didn't take long before the last class ended and everybody was off to perform their club duties. Shirota was off to the Council Room to meet up with the other two as planned. Aiba had left to finish his section of the paper that afternoon with the rest of the members of the school paper.

----------

Reaching the third floor, Shirota turned a corner from the stairs before he stopped when he saw a senior student blocking his way. "Can I help you?" Shirota inquired.

"I've been waiting for you..." the senior began.

Shirota blinked. "What for?"

The senior advanced before taking Shirota by the collar of his uniform. "Shirota Yuu... You're the guy Aiba bid for yesterday, right?"

Shirota nodded calmly. "So what if I am?"

The senior, who was taller and apparently stronger than the boy, pulled the freshman off his feet and slammed his back to the nearest wall before leaning in close to whisper in his ear. "I'll only say this once. If you know what's best for you, you'll stop hanging around Aiba."

"I can't do that," Shirota replied, earning him a knee to the gut.

Kamei pulled back, the anger evident in his face. "Kozo! Doyou know who you're talking to?!" he bellowed.

Shirota shook his head, wincing at the pain.

"Captain of the Judo Club, Kamei Haruteru," he introduced. "Give me one good reason why you can't do what I ask you to!"

Shirota gritted his teeth. "He and I are classmates... And there's also that Buddy--"

"To hell with that!" Kamei interjected, punching the wall beside Shirota's head. "I know I can't do anything about you being in class together, but you'd better stay away from him after classes."

"That's not for me to decide..." Shirota reasoned.

Kamei let Shirota go as the boy slid down the wall, clutching his stomach. "I won't tell you again. I'd better find Aiba alone tomorrow after class at the courtyard or I swear I'll make your life hell." With that, Kamei stomped off as Shirota groaned, leaning against the wall, hissing in pain.

----------

Aiba put down his camera after taking a few shots, _'That's strange...he should be here by now...'_ he thought as he looked around. "Yuu...where the heck are you?" he muttered.

Kentarou looked around and saw that Aiba was there. He jogged up to him. "Oi, Aiba-kun. What are you doing here?" he inquired. "Didn't Shirota-kun tell you he only comes to training every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays? He's doing work for the Council on Tuesdays and Thursdays," he explained.

Aiba blinked. "Oh yeah....it's Tuesday...I forgot about that," he admitted. "Oh well...for a minute there I thought something happened," he said. "A-no sa...if he comes by can you tell him I have to cover another club for a while? One of our staff is absent and he was supposed to take pictures of the members today," he explained before picking up his things. "Thanks!" he said before heading back to the building to locate the club he was talking about.

----------

Takigawa and Moriyama stepped out of the Council Room for a while to submit some things to the Vice-Principal.

"Where's Shirota-kun?" Moriyama inquired as they turned a corner.

Takigawa shrugged as he moved along with his crutches. "Must've--Shirotan!" he exclaimed, seeing the boy in question on the ground, leaning against the wall and clutching his stomach. Takigawa moved forward as quickly as he could. "Oi!"

Shirota opened his eyes at the sound of Takigawa's voice. "E...Eiji-kun..."

"What happened?" Takigawa demanded as Moriyama arrived and knelt down beside Shirota.

"Are you alright?" Moriyama asked.

"What happened?" Takigawa repeated.

Shirota took a while to catch his breath. "I just experienced being picked on by an upperclassman..." he mused before wincing in pain.

Moriyama and Takigawa exchanged glances. "Do you know who it was?" the president inquired.

Shirota nodded. "A senior Judo captain."

Moriyama shrugged. "Kamei-kun..." he said. "He's causing trouble again..."

Shirota looked over to him. "What do you mean?"

Takigawa sighed. "Can you stand, Shirotan?" he asked.

Shirota nodded as Moriyama helped him up. "Do you think you need to go to the clinic?" Moriyama inquired.

"I'll be fine..." Shirota said.

"Let's take him back to the Council Room for now..." Takigawa suggested before the three headed back in that direction. "I'm sure Shirotan wants to know all about Kamei Haruteru..."

----------

Aiba sighed before knocking on the door of the Judo Club. "Aiba Hiroki of the School Paper, I'm supposed to take pictures of the club," he announced with a bow as soon as the door slid open.

----------

As soon as Moriyama set Shirota down on the couch at the room, Takigawa lowered himself onto the other one.

"Kamei Haruteru... He's quite a troublesome fellow since his freshman year..." Moriyama began as he poured some tea for the two. "I was already in the Council at the time and he was part of the Judo club as soon as he entered Senior High..."

----------

Kamei grinned. _'What a lucky day this turned out to be,'_ he told himself. "Oh, Aiba-kun! I'm the captain of the Judo varsity, Kamei Haruteru. Don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions with things. Come in," he said, stepping aside.

----------

"And what was wrong with being in the Judo club?" Shirota inquired.

"Well, it gave you a good idea that he knew how to use his fists when he needed to," Takigawa explained, taking his cup of tea.

Moriyama nodded. "Usually, he'd get into a confrontation with an upperclassman for being too arrogant and it was settled with a fight. When he entered second year, he began to get these feelings towards a student from Takigawa's batch... But that student was already with somebody else, so..."

"So Kamei-senpai threatened that somebody else to leave the senpai he liked alone..." Shirota chimed in as Moriyama and Takigawa nodded.

----------

Aiba nodded. "Hai. I'll keep that in mind Kamei-senpai," he said before stepping inside the room. He sighed inwardly. _'In all honesty I would rather be with Yuu right now...stupid Nakagauchi-senpai...you just had to be absent on a day like this....'_ he thought before going to the side, preparing the camera to take pictures.

----------

Moriyama blinked, looking back to Shirota. "Wait... That would mean that..."

Takigawa rubbed the back of his neck. "Kamei-senpai's got his eye on Aiba this time around..." he muttered.

----------

Aiba took a few more pictures, checking them once they were captured before deciding that he was done for the day with that club. He looked around to look for the captain and approached him once he spotted him. "Kamei-senpai, I finished taking the pictures of the club. Thank you for allowing me to take them and look forward to seeing them along with Nakagauchi-senpai's article in the next issue of the paper," he said as he smiled diplomatically. "I'll be going now." he said before turning around to leave.

Kamei took hold of Aiba's arm. "Chotto," he called. Most of the members headed for the locker rooms for a shower, leaving Kamei alone with Aiba. "I need to ask you something."

----------

Takigawa looked over to Shirota. "And do you plan to do anything about that, Shirotan?" he inquired.

Shirota was tracing the rim of his cup with his thumbs in deep thought. "If he wants me to stop being with Hiroki, there's nothing I can do..." he said quietly. "It's not my decision to make because..." He paused and took a sip of tea. "Because Hiroki and I..."

----------

Aiba looked at the hand that was holding his arm before looking at Kamei. "What is it, senpai?" he asked.

Kamei stared into Aiba's eyes. "Do you... have any special feelings towards someone?" he began.

"W-W-What?" Aiba asked as he looked at Kamei, subconsciously taking a step back. _'What has that got to do with anything?!'_ he asked himself. "A…A-no...Yes senpai...I do have …er...special feelings...towards someone," he answered.

Kamei frowned. "That's too bad..." he said, taking a step forward. "So someone's beat me to you, then? Confessing their feelings, I mean..." He narrowed his eyes. "It's that soccer prodigy Shirota, isn't it?" he said dangerously.

Aiba tried to free his hand from Kamei's grip. "I don't see the point of sharing that piece of information with you senpai," he said with a glare.

"Like it isn't obvious, seeing how much time you spend with him after classes..." Kamei scoffed. "We'll see who deserves you more... Me or him..." Kamei released his hold on Aiba before storming off.

----------

"Hiroki and I still have a lot more to learn about each other..." Shirota finished before he drank the rest of his tea. "I for one don't truly understand Hiroki's feelings yet... Despite what's happened... I cherish Hiroki... but I feel as it there's still a lot of ways for us to strengthen our relationship more..."

----------

'_What the hell was that about?!'_ Aiba thought as he rubbed his arm. "They weren't kidding when they said he had a killer grip...." he muttered before heading out.

"Oi Aiba!"

Aiba turned around when he heard a familiar voice. "Kimeru-senpai," he greeted with a nod.

Kimeru frowned. "What were you doing in the Judo Club?" he asked.

"I was covering the club since Nakagauchi-senpai is absent," Aiba replied.

"Oh. So anyway, I was heading to the council room. Wanna come with?" he asked.

"Sure, I'm heading there anyway," Aiba agreed.

When they reached the council room Kimeru knocked on the door.

Shirota set his cup of tea down and leaned back on the couch, bringing a hand to his stomach, wincing slightly. "Itte..." he hissed.

Moriyama set his cup down and got to his feet. "Kamei-kun's built himself up because he does Judo, so it's no wonder the pain lasts this long..." he sympathized before attending to the door and slid it open. "Oh, Kimeru-kun and Aiba-kun," he greeted, nodding to them.

Kimeru entered the room and nodded to them. "I found this guy along the hallway and decided to bring him along," he said as he gestured to Aiba who made his way towards Shirota. "Sorry for barging in," he said to Moriyama before noticing something strange about Shirota. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Takigawa nodded to Kimeru and Aiba as he took another sip of his tea as his gaze moved to Shirota.

Shirota closed an eye as he adjusted himself. "Not as well as I'd like to be," he admitted.

"Why? What happened?" Aiba asked in concern.

Kimeru looked at the three. _'What's this? Student Council tea party?'_ he thought in amusement.

"I got a knee to the gut from Kamei-senpai earlier..." Shirota said quietly.

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru. As if reading his mind, he closed his eyes and continued drinking his tea. "It's not what it looks like. Moriyama-senpai made some tea that can help Shirota calm down," he explained.

Kimeru looked at Takigawa in surprise. "How do you do that?!" he asked.

Aiba frowned. "Oh...him...." he muttered. "He said something funny earlier after I took pictures of the Judo Club....and he left me with something too, I think," he said.

Shirota frowned, looking over to Aiba. "Left you with something?" he repeated.

Takigawa shrugged. "You're the only one I know who'd think like that, Kime-kun," he accused lightly.

Kimeru chuckled. "You know me so well..." he teased.

Aiba sighed before removing his blazer and showed Shirota his arm where, sure enough, the part that Kamei had gripped earlier was a bit red.

This caught Kimeru's attention. "What the heck?" he muttered.

Moriyama looked over and sighed. "They say Kamei has quite a pincer-like grip," he said. "The two of you better be careful around him," he said, looking over from Shirota to Aiba. "Shirota more than Aiba, I might have to say..."

"And that's because Kamei-senpai will be venting out his anger on Shirota rather than Aiba... Just like what he did with Hayashino last year..." Takigawa said slowly.

Aiba, finally putting two and two together in the scenario, frowned before turning to look at Moriyama. "This...this is about me isn't it?" he asked. "He did that to Yuu because of me," he said as he looked down. "Darn it...." he muttered before looking at Shirota. '_What am I going to do?'_ he asked himself.

Moriyama and Shirota's eyes met for a moment before the younger boy nodded. "Kamei... He said something along the lines of liking you, didn't he, Aiba-kun?" Moriyama began. "If that's the case, he wants to find a way to get you alone and see the relationship through from his perspective... And put Shirota-kun out of the picture in the process."

Aiba chose not to reply as he thought things over.

"Aiba?" Kimeru said as he placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder.

Aiba shrugged Kimeru's hand away and looked at Shirota. "I'll fix this..." he said before running out of the office to track down a certain senior.

Shirota's eyes widened as he watched Aiba leave. "Oi, mat---" He moved toward the door before stopping, wincing at the movement as he brought a hand to his stomach.

"Easy, Shirotan..." Moriyama said quietly, easing him back onto the couch.

Kimeru frowned. "I don't like this one bit..." he muttered. "I'm going to follow Aiba!" he said before heading out as well.

----------

Takigawa watched Kimeru leave before turning to Shirota. "Oi..."

"I want to go after him..." Shirota muttered. "But I can't..."

----------

_'Damn it! I don't have any idea where he ran off to!'_ Kimeru thought in frustration as he looked around, running down the halls.

----------

Aiba frowned as he closed the door behind him. "You....why did you do that to Shirota?!" he asked in anger.

Kamei smirked. "Why are you getting angry?" he inquired, moving towards him. "Someone like him couldn't possibly protect you from anybody who dares to hurt you," he said. "You're better off with me, don't you agree? I'll keep you safe, Aiba-kun."

Aiba glared at him. _'No. I don't agree!'_ he told himself. He fisted his hands, "What do you want?" he asked. "What would make you stay away from Shirota? What do I have to do to ensure that you wouldn't hurt him again?!"

----------

"Aiba!!" Kimeru called out, stopping near the courts. "I can't find him anywhere...." he muttered as he looked around. "This is not good..." _'Aiba, you better not do anything stupid!!'_ he shouted in his mind in frustration.

-----------

Kamei smirked. "Leave him. The only reason I'd hurt him is to make sure he stays away from you, anyway," he explained calmly. "So if you're begging for me to leave him alone, you'll leave him... and be with me."

"What?!" Aiba exclaimed. "That's stupid I..I..." he paused, his heart racing at the adrenalin rush. He looked down and thought for a moment. "If I do this...will you guarantee that you will not harm Shirota Yuu ever again?" he asked.

Kamei nodded, bringing a hand to his chest. "I guarantee it."

----------

Kimeru returned to the Student Council office. "Couldn't find him anywhere..." he said as he went inside. He saw Aiba's blazer on Moriyama's desk and a thought came to mind. "That idiot! He couldn't have possibly went to.....damn it!"

Shirota got to his feet and took his bag with him.

"Oi, Shirota..." Moriyama called.

"I'm going home..." he replied, glancing over to the others in the room. "Gomen, I can't help you with Eiji-kun tonight, Kimeru-senpai..." he muttered, nodding before leaving.

Takigawa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is going to hurt them both..." he said.

Kimeru frowned. "I'm going to look for that brat and knock some sense into his head!" Kimeru proclaimed before turning around to hunt down Aiba once more.

----------

Aiba took a deep breath before looking at Kamei, _'Please forgive me, Yuu....I just don't want you getting hurt because of me...'_ "I'll do it."

Kamei's lips curled into a triumphant smile. "Glad to hear that, Aiba-kun," he said before turning around. "I'll see you tomorrow during lunch at the courtyard then. I'll bring some food for us to share, alright?" he explained. "Jya!" He headed back to the locker rooms.

"Aa...." Aiba replied before turning around to leave.

----------

Shirota was walking away from the school building, his pace decreased due to the pain delivered to him earlier. He winced in pain every few steps. _'How in the world do you think I'd feel, then..? If you went off and did that...'_ he thought to himself in anger.

The next day at classes, Aiba sighed as he went to his seat. He had arrived late that morning and most of his classmates were already in the room. He went straight to his seat and ignored Shirota.

Endo looked over at Yanagi. "Okay....something's wrong with those two. Want to go and find out?" he asked.

Ueshima stepped into the room. "Ohayou~" he greeted brightly before he went to his desk, noticing that Shirota had stood. "Something wrong, Shirota?"

The class looked over to him. Shirota took a moment's glance over to Aiba before he turned to Ueshima and said, "Sensei, would it be alright if I asked for a transfer of seats for a while?"

The rest of the class -Aiba included- stared at Shirota in shock.

_'T-transfer?'_ Aiba thought before immediately looking away, trying to will away the pain he felt at Shirota's sudden request.

Ueshima blinked, looking between Shirota and Aiba for a minute before clearing his throat, nodding. "Very well, then. You can take the empty seat here up front," he said, gesturing to the seat right in front of him.

Shirota bowed. "Arigatou gozaimasu, sensei." He gathered up his things and headed to his new seat as murmurs engaged between the class at this sudden request from Shirota.

"Let's check attendance, then!" Ueshima said distractedly.

Aiba couldn't concentrate the whole morning. When he was called up to answer for one of their morning subjects all he could do was look away from the teacher and quietly say that he didn't know, earning a surprised look from both his teacher and his classmates.

During the first break he remained in his seat, refusing to talk to anyone, even Adachi who came over for something about the school paper. When classes resumed everyone could feel the tension between Shirota and Aiba but no one dared to say anything about it.

Shirota, in the meantime, was showing a different side of him that the rest of the class never really thought existed in the boy. He was silent during breaks when he would usually engage in conversation and rarely offered anything for class discussions as he usually would.

Then lunch came. Aiba dreaded that certain period and inwardly groaned when the bell rang to signal the second break of the day. Shirota had left the classroom and headed out on his own to think. Aiba stood up from his seat. "Aiba? You're not eating with us today?" Zukki asked as he looked at him. Aiba shook his head before leaving the room to head to the courtyard.

----------

Kamei was waiting on a bench at the courtyard when he saw Aiba arrive. He smiled as he approached. "I'm glad you made it," he said. "I've got us some sandwiches to feast on."

Aiba couldn't even force himself to smile as he sat down beside Kamei. He looked at him for a moment before turning away. "Gomen, Kamei-senpai....I'm not hungry," he said.

"You're still holding feelings for him, aren't you?" Kamei said as he took a sandwich from the pack and ate it. "Better you let them go already, Aiba-kun."

_'And you honestly think that it's that easy...wait scratch that...I don't even want to let those feeling go you idiotic--'_ Aiba cut his train of thought there before he let something slip out. He chose to stay quiet and just let Kamei do the talking.

----------

Shirota was sitting down on the steps of the auditorium building, his face in his hands.

"Oi, Shirota!" Kujirai called, approaching him.

Shirota looked over to see the 2nd year approach him as he got to his feet. "Something wrong, Kujirai-senpai?" he asked bluntly.

"Are you coming to practice later?"

Shirota slipped his hands into his pockets. "Maybe not," he replied before walking away.

Kujirai glanced over to Shirota. "Something's distracted him..." he muttered, shaking his head.

Shirota was in a bad mood for the rest of the week that he refused to go to soccer practice - more to save himself the indignity of being distracted -, and rarely spoke a word of random conversation to his fellow classmates. He even rejected any calls from Takigawa that weekend and spent the weekend locked up in his room, much to the worry of his sister Maria.

Kamei was spending time with Aiba every chance he could, talking about himself in his arrogant manner and very rarely asked Aiba for any insight. It was clearly a one-sided 'relationship' between them. Moriyama and Takigawa, who were worried about Shirota and Aiba's lack of performance during the week since the incident, decided to do something about it the following Monday.

Aiba had also been ignoring all his priorities that week; he didn't attend to his assignment of covering the activities of the varsity club nor did he attend to any of the club meetings of the school paper. Yagami was quite alarmed when he found out about this and immediately approached Moriyama to look into it.

At home, his sister also noticed the lack of enthusiasm she had grown accustom to when Aiba was around, and when she had asked about Shirota, Aiba just simply looked away and excused himself to go up to his room. During those times Aiba would only come out the next day.

Then there was another thing...Kamei. The senior had taken every chance to with Aiba and the freshman knew that he couldn't take it anymore. He had spent almost all of his free time with the senior and it always ended up with him listening to things he wasn't even interested in. There were many times that he just wanted to snap at him but refrained from doing so because he kept in mind that if he did there was a chance that Shirota might get in trouble for it afterwards.

While all of this was happening, a spectator to this problem was growing more tired of watching the melodrama for the whole week. Kimeru was fed up with them; both of them. He knew that what was happening was definitely something that the two freshmen had no power over so he was wondering why the two, instead of talking in a civilized way to get things settled, completely ignored one another and chose to mope in their own little corners of woe.

Monday came along and he knew that it had gone too far. That morning, the band vocalist barged in the student council room and slammed the door close behind him. "I am sick and tired of all this drama in the campus," he started as he glared at the two. "We are going to do something. NOW!"

He looked at Moriyama. "The band studio is empty. I made sure that no one would be entering until we're through with it. I need you to get me some heavy duty locks." He then faced Takigawa. "You...you will get Shirota and drag him there! I don't care what it takes as long as you get him there in 10 minutes. I'll take care of Aiba."

Moriyama and Takigawa, surprised at this sudden entrance, looked at one another for a minute before nodding to Kimeru. "A...Aa..." they replied before dispersing. Moriyama headed off to get the locks from the equipment room in the gym while Takigawa - thankful that his sprain was healed - went off to look for Shirota.

The Student Council Vice President had found his childhood friend in a particular location by the soccer field, lying down on the grass. He approached him. "Oi, Shirota."

"What?" Shirota asked in annoyance, looking up at him.

"Come with me for a bit," Takigawa requested firmly. Not waiting for an answer, he took Shirota by the wrist and dragged him to his feet. "And I won't have no for an answer," he added before pulling the freshman off to the band studio.

----------

"Kimeru-senpai! Let me go!!" Aiba yelled as he thrashed against Kimeru who had hoisted him over his shoulder and was now carrying him like a sack of potatoes.

"I'm sorry Aibacchin, I can't do that," he said as he stopped by the door of the band studio and opened it. "In you go," he said as he dropped Aiba unceremoniously by the platform and exited the room. "I love sound proof rooms..." he said with a grin as he leaned on the door to prevent the boy from escaping.

Takigawa arrived not long after with Shirota in tow. "Kime..." he started before Moriyama arrived moments later.

"I've got them!" he exclaimed.

"Quick, shove him in!" Kimeru said as he opened the door and closed it as soon as Shirota was inside. He held the door down as Moriyama placed the locks. "That should do it," Kimeru muttered. "Now we look for the one who caused all this..." he told the two.

----------

Aiba blinked as he saw who arrived. _'Oh please no...it can't be!'_ he thought in alarm.

Shirota got to his feet. "Of all the places..." he muttered before he turned to see Aiba there. "And what did they want to achieve with putting me in here alone with you?" he asked bluntly, shaking his head.

----------

Takigawa looked over to the door. "Are you sure it's alright if we leave them in there, Kime? At this point they might end up throwing fists at one another instead of actually talking..." he reasoned.

"You honestly think that the Student Council is the only organization with cameras?" Kimeru asked with a grin. "Don't worry. If anything gets out of hand Nagayan and the others will step in," he assured the two. "Now where the heck is that Kamei person?"

Takigawa nodded. "Kamei usually comes to school right before pre-homeroom, so he'll be on his way at about his time," he explained.

Kimeru smirked. "Good...coz he's in a lot of trouble," he muttered.

----------

"I don't know," Aiba answered flatly before adjusting his sitting position so that his back was facing the other boy.

Shirota was looking at his palm, curling it into a fist. "Are you enjoying yourself with Kamei-senpai?" he inquired off-handedly.

Aiba frowned. "It's not what it looks like," he said. "I'm not with him because I want to."

Shirota approached Aiba and pulled him around to face him, gripping on his collar. "Is that right…well then what the hell are you doing with him?!" he demanded.

Aiba glared at him and pushed him away. "Because he promised that he won't hurt you anymore if I go out with him!!" he snapped.

Shirota's hand was trembling and before he knew it, his fist had collided with Aiba's cheek, sending the other boy to the floor. "You idiot!" he bellowed. "Just because he drove his knee to my gut back then doesn't mean you have to risk yourself to prevent me from getting hurt!"

Aiba's glare intensified but he chose not to fight back. He got to his feet and met Shirota's gaze dead on. "I would rather do that then see you beaten to a bloody pulp because of me!" he yelled. "Don't you understand?! That was the only way to get him to stop threatening you and hurting you!"

Shirota chuckled. "And you think I'm grateful for that gesture?" he said angrily. "Do you think I'm happy because you stuck up for me?!" Shirota yelled back. "

"And you honestly think that I'm happy with what I'm doing?!" Aiba said. "I never expected you to be grateful for what I did! I know that this would end up with you hating me!" He looked away. "But guess what. I still did it. Because I didn't care!! All that mattered to me was that you were safe!" He paused for a moment. "Now if you can't get it through your head that I'm not doing this because I want to nor am I doing this because I have a reason that apparently YOU'RE not listening to then I would rather not talk about it!!"

"Oi..." Shirota kicked Aiba in the stomach, causing him to move back into the seat nearby. "Nobody said I hated you..." he hissed. "I'm just generally ticked off that you went and did that without telling me properly!" he shouted, stomping off to the other side of the studio, kicking a chair down as he crossed it, his back to Aiba. "Did it even occur to you that by doing that it was just like burying me in my grave?!" he yelled, shutting his eyes when he felt tears cloud his vision. "Darn it, this is worse than anything Kamei-senpai would've done to me if you didn't say anything!!"

Aiba brought a hand up to his stomach. _'This guy doesn't know his own strength...'_ he thought as he winced in pain. "Look. I don't have anything else to say and I won't even bother justifying what I did since none of it is getting through you," he said before looking at Shirota but soon realized that the other was not going to look at him anytime soon. "But let me tell you one last thing.... I'm sorry."

He then looked down. "I'm sorry for deciding all this on my own. I'm sorry for not telling you anything and most of all...I'm sorry that I caused you to suffer for the past week...and even if there's a chance that this has no meaning to you anymore...during the times that I was with Kamei-senpai...I felt nothing...nothing compared to what I feel for you," he finished. "So go ahead. Punch me, Kick me…do anything you want because I won't say anything else anymore."

Shirota took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I heard from somewhere... that while actions _do_ speak louder than words... in a relationship... words deal more damage... whether they are intended for good _or_ bad..." he explained slowly, loud enough for Aiba to hear him.

"When you left the Council Room last Tuesday, I understood it already... what your intentions were... and I had resigned myself to not stop you from doing what you thought was morally right... Even if it was at the expense of killing me inside to have to ignore you and see you with Kamei-senpai..." Shirota sniffed, wiping the tears that started to form in his eyes.

Aiba sighed. _'If you had said something back then I wouldn't have done what I did...'_ he thought to himself. He stopped himself before he could say something that might cause Shirota to lash out again; so he decided to keep silent.

"I wanted to run after you, you know..." Shirota said after managing to compose himself a little. "But my state didn't allow me that privilege... So I didn't bother... But I wanted to tell you something... before you ran off so suddenly..."

"What...what did you want to tell me?" Aiba asked quietly, but loud enough for Shirota to hear.

"I would've told you I would rather get beaten up by a guy like him than renounce my feelings towards you... Because... I promised you that I wouldn't leave your side... That I'd protect you..." Shirota said before chuckling slightly. "I'm afraid I've broken my word quite a few times already, though... Especially when I let myself get affected by the thought of not being able to be with you whenever I could... Gomen..."

"Yuu...I..." Aiba started as he shook his head. "I can't blame you for being unable to keep your word because I was the one who had caused you to break it in the first place..." he said. He felt his vision fog up and used his sleeve to wipe away the impending tears. "I really...really didn't want to leave you but I also didn't want you being beaten up by someone if I can do something about it...you were not the one who first turned against the other. It was me..."

"What would you have done...if I told you what I said earlier back at the time? Would you have let me try and handle the situation at the expense of being physically abused by him... or would you still have left?" Shirota inquired.

"I...I would have stayed with you," Aiba answered. "But I would also try to find a solution to it. I wouldn't have just stood idly by.....but still I would have stayed," he said truthfully.

Shirota turned on his heel to finally face Aiba before slowly approaching him. He stopped a short distance away before he got to his knees, bowing. "Gomen!" he exclaimed. "I didn't intend to you hit you earlier..."

Aiba's eyes widened when he saw this. "Y-Yuu…" he said before rushing over. "Come on get up..." he said as he pulled Shirota up to look at him. "It's alright...I understand...I deserve it anyway. After all that I have put you through…this is nothing." he explained. "I'm the one who should be sorry...not you."

Shirota looked at Aiba for a moment before finally nodding, using his left arm to pull Aiba close. "Even still..." he whispered. "I apologize for not saying what I wanted to at the time... We wouldn't have had to go through all this if I said it..."

Aiba shook his head. "It doesn't matter now...it's over," he said quietly. "...and there's no way I'm going back to him after this..." He placed his arms around Shirota. "Let's try and talk things out next time we have problems so that we won't end up hurting each other again..." the younger pleaded.

Shirota winced before gently pushing Aiba back with his left hand. "Wait... Please don't touch my right elbow..." he requested. "It hurts..."

Aiba frowned. "What happened to it?" he asked.

Shirota got to his feet slowly. "Self-inflicted..." he muttered. "During the weekend..."

"S-Self inflicted?!" Aiba exclaimed. "Now I really want to hit you..." he muttered. "WHY?!"

Shirota shrugged, looking away from Aiba. "It's my penance for not doing anything about this sooner..." he muttered.

"Now that has got to be the most stupid thing I have ever heard, Shirota Yuu," Aiba said, deciding against hitting him. "Please promise me that you won't do this again."

"If you haven't noticed, me making promises end up in being broken eventually..." Shirota muttered.

Aiba frowned. "Will you please stop being stubborn about this one?" he said flatly. "Getting hurt by someone else is one thing but hurting _yourself _is another and not to mention stupid. I don't care if you think that you'd break this promise. At least _try_ and keep it..."

Shirota looked over to Aiba for a few seconds. "If you want to do it, do it," he said. "I deserve _that_ much, at least."

"I won't do it," Aiba said. "I don't like resorting to violence, thank you."

Shirota smirked. "Fine, then I won't make that promise just yet..." he said before moving off to the door.

Aiba frowned. _'I hate to do this but if it's the only way...'_ "Oi!" he called out and just as soon as Shirota turned to face him, Aiba punched him across the face. "There...happy?" he asked.

Shirota stumbled to the side before he found his balance, looking over to Aiba, smiling. "Aa... Sankyu..." he replied.

"Now promise me that you wouldn't do that again!" Aiba demanded as he walked up to Shirota.

Shirota moved forward as well and closed the gap between them before pulling Aiba into a kiss before he replied, "I promise, then..."

Aiba sighed in relief as they pulled apart.

----------

Meanwhile outside the room, Kimeru, Moriyama, Takigawa and Yagami were sitting along the hallway.

"Do you think we should check now?" Yagami asked the other three.

Kimeru looked at his watch. "Yeah maybe we should...Moriyama-senpai... I think you can open the door now."

Moriyama nodded as he got to his feet and undid the locks before opening the door.

"Oi!!" Shirota exclaimed from inside. "Don't scare us like that, opening the door so suddenly..."

"So I hope that you two were able to talk things out?" Yagami asked.

"Oh yeah...Kamei won't be bothering either of you anytime soon..." Kimeru added with a grin.

"Why is that sen--" Aiba was cut off when he felt pain shoot up. He stepped back a bit and leaned on the table just behind him.

"Oi, Aiba what's wrong?" Kimeru asked.

"N-nothing...." Aiba lied as he managed to get his balance back.

Takigawa looked at the two and shrugged. "Come on, let's get you two to the infirmary..." he said, reaching out for Shirota's arm before he inched back. "What's wrong?"

Shirota looked at the ground. "Don't touch that arm..." he muttered.

Kimeru chuckled. "I don't think so..." he said. "Now off we go."

Shirota and Takigawa looked at one another before shrugging their shoulders as they set off after them.

"What happened to your arm, then?" Takigawa inquired.

"I'll tell you later over the phone..." Shirota muttered as he brought a hand up to his elbow.

As soon as they reached the clinic the nurse had told the three upperclassmen to leave.

Kimeru frowned as they headed back to their rooms. "You were right after all, Eiji...they DID get physical…" he said.

Yagami chuckled. "I'd be more surprised if it didn't," he said.

Takigawa chuckled. "On Shirotan's part, it's to be expected when his mind is in that state..." he explained.

----------

Aiba stared at the white ceiling as he thought about what happened. _'I wonder why we don't have to worry about Kamei-senpai anymore...'_ he wondered. _'…and more importantly...I don't know if Yuu and I are back in good terms as before....'_

Shirota was on the other bed, heaving a sigh of relief as he was provided an elbow band and the bruise on his face attended to. _'Sempai tachi... They actually found a way to get Kamei-senpai off our backs, huh..?'_ he thought to himself with a smile.

Aiba turned to his side, his back on Shirota. _'But I would have to admit....I was stupid as well when I agreed to Kamei-senpai's terms without consulting Yuu...'_ he thought, frowning as he did so. _'I have to remember that I don't just make decisions like that alone anymore...'_

----------

Kimeru grinned. "I guess so…but I'm surprised that Aiba even fought back," he said.

"That's because he's not the type to get physical, I guess?" Takigawa offered.

Kimeru nodded. "I guess that's it..." he said with a smile. "I'll see you at break then, Eiji. See you around, Yagami-senpai."

Yagami waved at him as he went to his classroom.

----------

Shirota looked over to Aiba. _'If anything... I want to believe that this is just a hurdle we need to get through...'_

Aiba looked at the empty bed beside his. _'I guess I have to re-evaluate myself because of this...'_ he thought.

"Hiroki..." Shirota called, pulling the boy out of his thoughts as he pushed himself to sit up. "A-no sa... I'm going back to training later... But I already know I'll get scolded for missing all of last week's practices..." he started. "And we never got to do anything for that Buddy Auction last week too... So is it alright if we... go out later? After training?" he suggested.

Aiba, a bit surprised by Shirota's voice, blinked for a while before turning around to face the one on the other bed. He smiled softly. "That would be great..." he said.

Shirota nodded before chuckling to himself. "I'll probably be running laps throughout most of the practice days this week," he mused.

"Oh I'm sure you'll manage to survive it," Aiba said with a grin.

"Which reminds me..." Shirota said, frowning. "How's your stomach doing..?" he asked. "I apologize if I kicked you too hard..."

Aiba blinked. "It hurts a bit, but I'll be fine so there's no need to worry about it," he answered reassuringly.

"I failed to mention anything to you before... about what I tend to do when I end up with a mindset like that..." Shirota said, sighing as he brought his left hand to his injured elbow. "I probably didn't bother talking about it since it doesn't really happen very often... But..." he looked over to Aiba again. "...now you know."

"Sou...." Aiba said. "And the next time you even dare to do it I will wring your neck. Got that?" he warned.

Shirota broke a smile, nodding. "Douzo. I'd appreciate the gesture, actually," he replied coolly.

Aiba sighed. _'There is just no getting through this guy about things like this...'_ he thought. "I'm not kidding Yuu...if you try to injure yourself one more time for any reason. I'm going to get mad at you and I swear it'll take more than a punch for me to get over it and forgive you," he said.

Shirota nodded. "I understand... To prevent that from happening, you and I will have to avoid getting into a similar situation that gets us angry or upset with the other for a span of at least 3 days," he explained.

Aiba shrugged. "That could work, I guess..." he said.

Shirota nodded before he lay back down to get himself some rest.

----------

After classes that afternoon, Shirota rejoined practices, apologizing to Wada for his sudden absence during the span of last week. Wada had assigned him 50 laps to do that day and asked him to come back to their early morning practice on Wednesday to resume training. Apparently, Kujirai had informed Wada that Shirota was having some emotional problems that week and decided not to attend practice to relieve him of being a burden to the team. _"Otherwise I would've had you run more laps every practice session this week,"_ Wada had told him.

_'I'll have to thank Kujirai-senpai for that, then...'_ Shirota said to himself.

----------

Aiba was also back with the team after a lecture from Yagami about letting his problems get the better of him. He was tasked to return to the soccer team to continue covering their progress. Nakagauchi also apologized for getting him into trouble but Aiba told him that it wasn't really his fault. So here he was again taking pictures after talking to the captain to ask for updates on the team.

----------

Takigawa was taking a break from the games for a while to rest up his foot as it was still a little sore from his sprain as he volunteered to do the referee work for the time being.

----------

Kimeru and his group were given the day off from band activities. They were currently at the rooftop chatting with one another about random things.

"So how did you manage to convince the two to lock Shirota and Aiba in the room?" Nagayan asked.

"Well...I told them we had surveillance," Kimeru answered.

Daisuke stared at him. "Kime...we DON'T have surveillance," he said.

Kimeru grinned. "They don't need to know that."

----------

As Shirota ran his laps, the rest of the team were doing a few drills that concerned passing, receiving lobs, and scoring goals at certain angles.

Kentarou and Zukki partnered up as Shirota was running laps as Zukki's usual partner was off sick.

Zukki took a moment to watch Shirota's progress as he passed the ball to Kentarou. "That's his 19th lap already and he's not slowing down," he pointed out.

"He's the one with the most stamina on the entire team, I'd say," Wada said from the sidelines, overhearing Zukki's comment. "I'm not surprised he's not tired yet."

Kentarou nodded. "He was part of the varsity team back in his Junior High too, wasn't he? Maybe that's why..." he offered, passing the ball back to Zukki.

"Yes, well I'm glad he's back training with us. He's just been acting different the past week the atmosphere in the classroom was frightening," Zukki admitted.

Kenken heard their little conversation and decided to move a bit closer to them. "Frightening? Why what happened anyway?" he asked.

Zukki looked over to Kenken. "Ah, Shirota and Aiba seemed to have had some sort of fight... They weren't their usual selves in pre-homeroom... Last week, Shirota even requested to transfer seats, and we all knew that he always liked sitting beside Aiba..." he explained.

"We're fine now," Shirota said brightly as he passed them before moving onto his 23rd lap.

Kenken grinned at him. "So that's why our resident photographer was missing last week as well," he said.

Aiba, who heard this remark, resisted the urge to roll his eyes and opted to take a shot of Shirota running instead.

"Irei! Get on goal! The rest of you, shooting practice!" Wada bellowed to the team a few minutes later after checking his watch. He looked around and spotted Shirota. "How many laps so far?" he called.

"Just finished my 28th!" Shirota called back as he turned a corner. "Starting the 29th lap now!"

Wada nodded. "Keep it up, Shirota-kun!" He looked back to the rest of the team. "Begin!"

Aiba grinned as he watched Shirota. _'This guy...no signs of slowing down...jeez,'_ he thought in amusement.

----------

The band club in the meantime, suddenly appeared behind Takigawa. "We're here to bother you~" the group -minus Daisuke, Furukawa and Konishi- said.

Takigawa looked over his shoulder and blinked. "Oi, what are you guys doing here?" he hissed. The practice game had ended and the last runs were being administered by the team along the court.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to the friends of your--" Nagayan was cut off as Kimeru elbowed him.

"We didn't have club activities today and since I accidentally slipped out that you wouldn't be playing today they decided to drag me here," Kimeru explained.

"The captain's told me to take it easy for the next two days then I can start playing again on Wednesday," Takigawa explained. "I could leave now, actually," he added, looking over to the courts. "Practice is about done."

"Really?" Nagayan asked. "Then maybe you'd like to come with us!"

Kimeru glared at Nagayan. "I told you he won't like what--"

"Come on! Go clubbing with us!" Nagayan cut off.

Takigawa looked over to Nagayan, blinking for a while before shaking his head. "I'll have to decline the offer, Nagayama-kun," he said.

"I told you," Kimeru said with a smirk.

"That's too bad..." Furukawa said. "Can we take Kimeru, then?" he asked.

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru. "I'm not supposed to decide those things for him," he said with a smile.

"You're doomed," Furukawa said as he smiled at Kimeru.

"HEY! I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO GO!!" Kimeru yelled as the band club dragged him out of the court.

"Thanks Takigawa!" Nagayan said before closing the doors.

Takigawa watched them leave before shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Looks like I'll have to stop by the drugstore and get some painkillers..." he muttered to himself.

----------

Shirota was on his 47th lap when Wada had officially called the end of their practice that afternoon as he and Kujirai stayed, looking after Shirota's last 3 laps assigned to him.

Kujirai smirked. "That guy... He's only half-tired from all that running he's been doing?" he noted.

"These 50 laps will build up his stamina even more," Wada said. "It'll be useful if and when we head into overtime."

Aiba, who wanted to rest for a bit, fell asleep under the shade of a nearby tree with his notebook still in his hand.

Takigawa had left practice shortly after Kimeru and the others left, changed back into his uniform and decided to pass by the soccer field for a change. He chuckled as he saw Shirota still running his laps before he spotted Aiba, approaching him. "Oi, do you plan to stay the night here?" he mused to the boy, nudging him slightly.

"LAST LAP, SHIROTA!!" Wada called out.

"Wh-Wha? Huh?" Aiba asked a bit disoriented. He looked at Takigawa and frowned, "Takigawa-senpai.....?" he asked as he looked at his watch. "Thanks for waking me up," he said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Takigawa nodded before looking over to the field. "Looks like Shirotan's been assigned to do laps during the whole practice session," he noted with a fond smile. "Back when the two of us were in Junior High... He and I would have an afternoon jog after we had dropped off our things in our houses after school had ended..." he said conversationally, looking over to Aiba.

Aiba looked at him and blinked. "So that would mean that you also have this insane super human stamina..." he said.

Takigawa chuckled. "If you call it that, then yeah..." he said. "We stopped doing it when Shirota had become captain of the soccer varsity last year. But it was enough for the both of us to have that much stamina for our respective games that I'm glad we did it. For him more than me, I guess," he said as he watched Shirota finish his lap and practically drop to the ground in exhaustion.

"Good work, Shirota-kun. We'll see you Wednesday morning, then," Wada said, approaching the boy.

Shirota controlled his breathing before nodding. "Aa."

Takigawa smiled. "Shall we congratulate him on his successful laps?" he suggested.

"Sure!" Aiba said with a smile before standing up and picking up his things.

Shirota was panting slightly as he sat himself up. "Kujirai-senpai!" he called to the junior, who was about to leave.

"What is it?"

"Arigatou," he said, nodding to him.

Kujirai nodded in reply before leaving.

"Good work," Takigawa congratulated, approaching him.

Aiba held out a hand to him and smiled. "I can't believe you managed to do that without stopping. Everyone on your team was impressed," he said.

Shirota grinned as he took Aiba's hand and pulled himself up. "Doumo. I have to thank our previous training regime for that," he explained, nodding over to Takigawa.

Aiba chuckled. "It pays to have friends who are inclined to sports, so it would seem," he said. "Oh…how's your ankle by the way, Takigawa-senpai? And I'm a bit surprised that Kimeru-senpai isn't with you."

Shirota led them to the bench where his things were as Takigawa smiled. "It's nearly healed," he said. "A few more days and I can play without worry. And as for Kimeru... he's been dragged off by the band club to some club," he stated.

Aiba frowned. "Club? They went to a club on a school night?" he asked incredulously. He sighed. "Based from experience…whatever he will be doing once he gets back from there he won't be remembering in the morning. Oh yeah, he'll be irritable and have one heck of a headache in the morning too," he said.

Takigawa nodded. "I was planning to drop by the drugstore later to get some painkillers for him," he admitted.

Aiba nodded. "That would be a good idea..." he said.

"I need to get changed," Shirota announced, picking up his towel and his water jug.

Takigawa nodded over to him. "I'll be going ahead, then," he told the two. "See you tomorrow!"

"Aa, tomorrow," Shirota called as Takigawa headed over. "It'll just take me 2 or 3 minutes," he said, looking over to Aiba before sprinting off to the locker rooms.

"I'll just wait right here," Aiba called after him as he took a seat on the bench. He looked at the empty soccer field and thought for a moment. _'This would be a nice picture...'_ he thought as he pulled out his camera to take a picture of the field.

Shirota came back after 2 minutes with the rest of his things with him. "Back," he announced.

Aiba smiled at him as he stood up. "So where do you want to go?" he asked.

"I thought we had agreed last week that you'd be calling the shots?" Shirota reminded him.

Aiba thought for a moment. "I forgot about that..." he admitted. "Hmmm....I don't really know where I want to go."

"Anywhere is fine," Shirota said, pulling Aiba to start walking. "Besides, I already chose dinner back then, so you'll have to take me off to another restaurant this time around."

"Let's see..." Aiba thought as they started walking. "How about Cajun cuisine?" he asked.

"Never tried it," Shirota admitted right away. "But I'm willing to give it a shot. Let's go!" he said, pumping a fist into the air. "I'm starved after running all those laps," he added.

"You're going to love it," Aiba said with a grin. "I think there's one nearby where they serve Cajun."

"I can't wait, then," Shirota said happily.

After locating the restaurant Aiba was talking about they were seated by a waitress near the large windows of the place. "Let me guess...I'm going to order for you too?" Aiba asked.

Shirota nodded, not bothering to look at the menu. "I leave my satisfaction of food choice to you, Aiba-sama," he teased.

Aiba chuckled before looking at the waitress to place their orders.

"Ne..." Shirota called as the waitress left. "I want to make it up to you... For hitting you like that earlier..." he said quietly.

Aiba sighed. "I thought I already told you that it's all fine..." he said.

"I know... But I still want to do something to make amends for it..." Shirota muttered, racking his brain for a minute. "I'll get you something over the weekend!" he said with a grin.

Aiba blinked a few times before shaking his head. "I'll look forward to that, then," he answered with a smile.

Shirota nodded. "Which gives me five days to figure out what to get you..." he said, stroking his chin in contemplation.

Aiba chuckled. "I wouldn't really mind, as long as it's from you it's fine," he said.

Shirota frowned. "But I want it to be special so you completely forget what I did to you!" he reasoned.

Aiba sighed. "Alright then, I leave it to you to surprise me," he told him.

Shirota grinned, nodding. "Hai, Aiba-sama!" he chimed as their food arrived.

"A-Aiba-sama?!" Aiba exclaimed. "You don't have to call me that, Yuu...." he said as he noticed some people looking at them.

Shirota chuckled. "Fine, I won't," he said, looking enthusiastically at the food as they were set on the table for them. "Just tell me what the dishes are."

"Oh. I basically ordered crawfish boil and Jambalaya," Aiba answered as he looked at the food.

Shirota let out an interested "Heh..." before looking over to Aiba. "Itadakimasu~"

----------

Takigawa came out of the drugstore, finally on his way home. He had bought some painkillers for Kimeru as he decided on what to make for dinner tonight. _'Just me, huh...'_ he thought to himself, chuckling. _'Looks like I can write a report about last week to mom and dad tonight...'_ he added, smiling.

----------

Kimeru looked over at his friends who had already ordered their drinks.

"You don't want any, Kime?" Daisuke asked and Kimeru shook his head.

"It's a school night," he answered.

Nagayan and Daisuke looked at one another before deciding on one thing.

----------

When Takigawa arrived home, he went to the kitchen after setting his things down on the couch, deciding to have himself some macaroni and cheese. He ate in the living room with Pearl, who was also eating her dinner enthusiastically. _'Well, the good thing is Shirota and Aiba are back together...'_ he thought to himself as he served himself another spoonful of his dinner.

----------

At around 10 in the evening, Furukawa had brought Kimeru home.

Furukawa knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. "I tell you.....he's going to kill me...." Kimeru muttered as Furukawa tried his best to keep his friend standing.

After dinner, Takigawa had done his homework and e-mailed his parents before he heard someone knocking on the door. _'I was wondering when he'd be back,'_ he thought to himself as he headed downstairs and to the front door. He pulled it open. "About time you got--Furukawa-kun?" Takigawa paused, looking over to Kimeru, shaking his head and heaved a sigh. "Do I even want to know what happened?" he inquired.

Furukawa grinned. "Nothing much, all we did was spike his ice tea and half an hour later he started dancing on the table much to the amusement of each and every one of us," he explained. "So...here you go," he said as he handed Kimeru to Takigawa. "Good luck!" he added before leaving.

Takigawa stumbled back as Furukawa handed Kimeru to him. "C...Chotto!" he called before looking over to Kimeru. "Let's get you to bed..." he mumbled before closing the front door.

"But I don't want to go to bed yet~~" Kimeru said as he tried to glare at Takigawa but failed. "I'm not sleepy...."

Takigawa sighed. "Trust me, you will be when you lie down," he said, practically carrying Kimeru's weight up the stairs to his bedroom.

"I don't wanna sleep!!" Kimeru complained but let himself be brought upstairs with the help of Takigawa.

Once in the bedroom, Takigawa moved his things from his bed and set Kimeru down onto it.

Kimeru looked lazily at Takigawa. "Are you forcing me to sleep?" he asked. "Because it's.....NOT....wor....king...." he muttered before falling asleep.

Takigawa chuckled before pulling the blanket over Kimeru, kissing him on the forehead before heading outside. _'Let me get that painkiller ready for him in the morning...'_ he thought to himself as he descended to the first floor and got a glass of water and the painkillers before returning upstairs. He re-entered the room and set them down on the bedside table. "Oyasumi, Kime..." he whispered before settling himself down on the futon, falling asleep as well.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED. :D

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	12. The Transfer Student

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 12th chapter entitled **The Transfer Student**. This chapter focuses on a new student joining Shirota and Aiba's class: Konma Takuya. With his bright personality, Takuya quickly befriends his fellow classmates and invites them to have a small dance session at his house. Here, Aiba finds a new avenue for his dancing beyond classical dances.

While the Student Council prepare for the upcoming Sportsfest, Takigawa sets his attention to Kimeru, who got drunk after being dragged off to a club by his friends and is experiencing a terrible headache.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The next morning, Kimeru opened his eyes and immediately shut them as he groaned, "Ugh…my head……" he muttered.

Takigawa woke up as usual that morning and moved to prepare breakfast. He returned to the bedroom with a tray of food. "You're finally up," he called as he approached the bed. "I've got breakfast ready for you, so you should have some before you take those painkillers."

"I feel like a bulldozer ran over my head...." Kimeru muttered as he sat up. "What's for breakfast…?" he asked.

Takigawa arranged a table and set the tray down on it. "Eggs, ham, toast, cereal, sausages, you pick. I made a wide spread for you choose from," he said with a small smile.

"I honestly feel like puking....so I don't really have much of an appetite..." Kimeru admitted. "When I find out who spiked my ice tea someone is going to die…" he added darkly.

"Nonsense." Takigawa took a piece of toast and shoved it into Kimeru's mouth. "You need to eat so you can take those painkillers," he instructed.

Kimeru reluctantly chewed on the piece of toast and sighed inwardly. _'This...will be a loooooooong day...'_ he thought in dismay.

----------

Shirota got up that morning, finding that he was left alone by Jun, who had already left the house. He went down to make himself some breakfast. He searched the cupboards for some cereal before he winced, retracting his right arm as he grabbed at his elbow. Taking a deep breath, he reached out with his left hand for the box of cereal. "I'll have to remember not to move this arm around too often..." he told himself firmly.

----------

Aiba woke up late due to studying for a quiz the next week. Now he was running at breakneck speed to the school from the bus stop, hoping to make it before the first bell. _'I have to make it!!!'_ he shouted in his mind.

----------

Shirota had breakfast and got himself ready for the day and took his usual walk to the school. By the time he arrived at the classroom, he looked around. _'Hmmm... I wonder where Hiroki is...'_ he thought to himself, walking inside, moving to set his gym bag in his locker.

Aiba came in just in time. As he took one step inside the classroom the first bell rang. "That was close..." he muttered as he went to his seat.

Ueshima came in like clockwork, sliding the other door open and stepping inside. "Ohayou~" he greeted, moving to the desk, turning to the class. "Shirota-kun, why are you still standing?" he inquired, causing the class to look over to him.

"A-no, I was hoping if I could transfer back to my old place, sensei," Shirota said, gesturing to his seat beside Aiba, smiling.

Ueshima nodded firmly, understanding what this had meant. "By all means," he said.

Shirota bowed. "Arigatou gozaimasu."

Aiba smiled as Shirota went back to his original seat. "Glad to have you back," he said with a nod.

Shirota nodded back to Aiba as he hung his bag and Ueshima-sensei began taking attendance. "It's good to be back," he replied.

----------

Kimeru groaned as he lifted his head from the desk, unfortunately for him he still had to go to class that day, though it turned out that none of the band club showed up for school. Not even Furukawa and Konishi.

----------

Takigawa leaned back on his desk, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned to Furukawa's empty desk. _'So he didn't come to school, either...'_ he thought, sighing. _'I wonder if I should've had Kimeru stay at home today, too...'_

_----------_

Halfway through the first class, Kimeru felt his head throbbing in pain once again. "Ugh…no…" he muttered as he placed a hand over his eyes. _'This is getting annoying....'_ he thought.

----------

Takigawa's first class was a free study period as their teacher was absent. Deciding, he excused himself from the class, informing Tuti that he was just going to attend to some important matter nearby. He headed off to section 3's classroom, slid the door open and bowed. "Excuse me sensei, would you mind if I excused Kimeru-kun today?" He paused and looked over to the boy on his desk. "I hear he's having quite a headache he can't seem to get rid of."

Kimeru looked at Takigawa before looking at his teacher who simply nodded at him. He smirked as he picked up his bag and went to Takigawa outside the room. "Thanks…" he muttered as he slid the door close.

"Gomen, if I had known sooner I would've let you stay home today..." Takigawa muttered. "Let's take you home, shall we? I have a free period right now and it wouldn't be a problem to me to make the trip back home and come back for the second period."

"Don't worry. It's fine. I sort of expected the others to not come today, actually...since they drank more than I technically did..." Kimeru said with a shrug. "Though I hope I didn't do anything stupid while I was under the influence of alcoholic iced tea..."

Takigawa led Kimeru down the hall as they started their walk. "You're going to have to ask them about that tomorrow when you're all feeling sober enough," he replied.

"Good point," Kimeru said. "Sober enough to take out at least half of their lifetime..." he muttered under his breath.

"Oi, oi. Let's not swear revenge for trivial things like that," Takigawa reasoned.

Kimeru pouted. "But if not for them I wouldn't have this migrane!!" he argued.

"Which is the reason you're going to go back to my place to rest for today," Takigawa said, leading Kimeru down the stairs.

Kimeru sighed and was silent until they reached the school gates. "Are you sure that you wouldn't get in trouble for this?" he asked.

Takigawa smiled. "I'm sure. There's nothing against assisting someone home to rest up for the day. And like I said earlier, we have a free period right now. I _do_ need to be back before second period, though," he explained.

"Oh…okay…" Kimeru said as he fell silent for the rest of the way back to Takigawa's place.

----------

Aiba frowned as he looked at his test paper. _'That's strange....this wasn't discussed yet...'_ he thought as he began answering. _'Oh well.....at least I already studied it last night...'_

Shirota was answering the test with ease. _'Testing if we've done any advanced studying on this topic?'_ he thought to himself, smiling. _'Ueshima-sensei never fails to impress.'_

"Alright class! Exchange papers with your seat-mate and let's see how you guys did," Ueshima said with a smile as he looked at the class.

"Here," Aiba said as he handed Shirota his paper.

Shirota held out his own paper to Aiba, taking the sheet passed over to him. "You're not surprised about the contents of this test, are you?" he inquired with a small smile.

Aiba smirked. "Not at all. It was exactly what I studied last night," he answered.

Zukki, who heard this exchange, stared at the two before turning his attention back to the paper he was going to correct.

Shirota nodded. "Same here," he replied before turning to Aiba's paper.

After the papers were checked, Aiba returned Shirota's paper to him.

"Congratulations Yuu… you got a perfect score," he said with a smile before taking back his own paper.

Ueshima stepped out after the papers were returned to him for grading. "Class. May I have your attention please," he said as he re-entered the room. "You guys are going to have a new classmate; a transferee from Chiba," he said as he stepped aside. "Go ahead and introduce yourself."

The class turned their attention to the new comer who entered the room and smiled at them all. "Konma Takuya desu~ I'm pleased to meet you all," the boy introduced.

Shirota got to his feet. "On behalf of the class, we'd like to express our welcome and hope that you enjoy your stay with us, Konma-kun," he said, nodding to him. "Shirota Yuu desu. I'm the class representative. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me," he said encouragingly.

"Hai~ Arigatou, Shirota-kun!" Takuya answered energetically.

"Okay…so why don't you sit in the empty seat here up front, Konma-kun?" Ueshima said as he gestured to the empty seat.

Takuya nodded before heading to the said chair.

Shirota took his seat once more before looking over to Aiba. "Seems quite an energetic person's joined the class," he whispered. "You should go and interact with him, Hiroki," he suggested.

Aiba blinked and glanced over at Takuya as the bell to signal the end of the period rang. "Hmm…then let's try to get to know him, then," he said with a smile. "Yosh, first break~" he said as he leaned back on his seat.

Shirota gestured towards Takuya. "By all means, then," he said.

----------

Takigawa had dropped Kimeru off at his house, leaving him with a spare set of keys before he returned to school for their second period and it didn't take long before first break arrived.

"So where'd you run off to earlier?" Toru inquired as soon as the teacher left.

"Just had to drop Kimeru off at the house..." Takigawa replied.

----------

Kimeru immediately went to bed after Takigawa had left, hoping that his headache would lessen at the very least when he wakes up.

----------

"Konma-kun," Aiba greeted as he approached Takuya. "Aiba Hiroku desu. Yoroshiku," he said with a smile.

Takuya looked at him for a full minute before grinning widely. "Wow...Aiba-kun, do you dance?" he asked.

"E-Excuse me?" Aiba asked in surprise.

"Do you dance? I mean, based on how you look and the way you move it's impossible that you don't," Takuya said as he stood up and moved around Aiba, looking at him.

"Er...a bit...but only the classic stuff. Tango...Waltz…" Aiba answered.

"Not that kind! Aiba-kun! You have the perfect build for street dancing and hi!" Takuya exclaimed.

"S-Street dancing?"

----------

Shirota rose to his feet and chuckled at this conversation before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Finally settled things with Aiba-kun, I see," Endo pointed out beside him.

"So you never told us why you two were quarreling," Yanagi added, stepping in on the other side of Shirota.

Shirota took up his hands and slapped them both up the head. "Baka, we weren't quarreling at all," he replied.

"We should get together and try so moves sometime!" Takuya said energetically. "Come on it'll be fun!!" he said.

Aiba was a bit unsure. "Konma-kun...I don't think--"

"Please Aiba-kun!! Just once and if you don't like it then I won't pester you about it anymore!" Takuya pleaded.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt…" Aiba said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Great!!"

Zukki chuckled. "I'm surprised you agreed so quickly," he teased over to Aiba.

----------

"Then why were you avoiding each other last week?" Endo demanded.

"And why did you transfer seats?" Yanagi added.

Shirota sighed. _'Seriously, these two...'_

"Well...who knows…it might be fun," Aiba said with a smile.

"Then you could come over at our place after class! We have a dance studio!" Takuya said, literally bouncing.

"Sure, Konma-kun," Aiba answered.

"Just call me Takuya!"

----------

Shirota moved away from Endo and Yanagi before they could ask any more questions, resulting in a chase around the classroom. Shirota moved past Takuya and Aiba before managing to get out of the room through one door and re-appearing through the other moments later.

"Shirota-kun, what are--" Zukki began.

"Don't ask."

Aiba watched as the little chase scene progressed.

"Are they really that hyper?" Takuya asked interestedly.

Aiba chuckled. "Most of the time they are," he said.

"Ne ne~ Maybe you'd also like to join us after classes, Shirota-kun!" Takuya asked as he looked at Shirota, a wide smile on his face.

"That's right, why don't you come with us, Yuu?" Aiba asked.

Takuya looked at Aiba. "You called him by first name…then that means…Sugee!!"

Shirota smiled. "I'll try and catch up. I still have some Council work to do this afternoon since Moriyama-senpai's off today," he explained.

"We could wait for you, Shirota-kun!" Takuya said.

Aiba nodded. "Aa, I could show Takuya around while we wait," he suggested.

"I'd like that," Takuya told them with a nod.

"If that's the case, I suggest you help him find a club, Hiroki," Shirota stated, leaning back on one of the desks.

"Do you guys have a soccer club?" Takuya asked as he looked back and forth between Aiba and Shirota.

Aiba blinked at Takuya before smirking. "Yes we do..." he said as he looked at Shirota.

Shirota looked Takuya over before he moved to his desk, retrieving something from his bag before returning, handing it out to him. "Fill this up and give it back to me later. I'll pass it over to Wada-buchou and see if I can get you to try-out tomorrow afternoon," he explained.

"Wow~ This is great!!! Thanks Shirota-kun!" Takuya said with a bow.

Aiba chuckled as he nodded to Shirota. "Nice," he said with a grin.

Shirota nodded to Takuya. "No problem."

"I'm looking forward to having you join the team then, Konma-kun," Zukki added with a grin.

"I hope I have what it takes to get in," Takuya said sheepishly as he looked at the two.

"Then do your best~" Aiba said as he patted Takuya on the shoulder.

"Hai!" Takuya answered.

Zukki smiled. "I have an idea. Let's go out to the soccer field later and see what you can do, Konma-kun," he suggested, looking over to Shirota. "We can invite him to tomorrow's early morning practice so Wada-buchou can see it first-hand."

Shirota nodded. "That could work... And it'll give him a basis for his decision by the afternoon practice..."

"Really? That's so great!! I can't wait to play with you guys!!" Takuya said happily.

Aiba looked at him. _'Hyper much?'_ he thought.

Shirota smiled pleasantly, looking over to Aiba. "I'm looking forward to it, then."

Aiba grinned. "It nice to see the two of you getting along..." he said offhandedly.

Takuya nodded. "That's because you guys are the be--" he was cut off as he saw someone pass by the door. "Who was that?" he asked curiously.

Aiba managed to see who it was and smirked. "_That_ was Kazuki Kato of section 2."

"He's part of the drama club," Shirota explained.

"Wow…there are a lot of talented people in this school…" Takuya said in awe as he looked at his classmates again.

Aiba then smirked as he looked at Takuya, recognizing his expression a few seconds back. "I could introduce you to Kazuki-kun," he said suddenly.

Takuya's eyes lit up. "You could?"

Shirota chuckled. "I'll leave you two to that, then," he said before returning to his seat.

"Come with me after classes, I'm sure I could do something about it," Aiba said with a wink.

"Sugee~ Sankyu Aiba-kun!" Takuya said with a wide smile.

The bell rang and Aiba looked at his watch. "Time for class again. Let's talk again later, Takuya!" he said before going back to his seat.

"You and him are getting along pretty well," Shirota told Aiba as he returned to his seat beside him. "You just might find a hidden talent in street dancing, you know."

"I wouldn't really know..." Aiba said as he sat down. "I've never actually tried dancing something outside classical."

Shirota grinned before turning to the teacher as she arrived. "Who knows? You might end up being pretty good at it," Shirota added quietly to Aiba before he got to his feet and bowed with the others in greeting before sitting back down.

"We'll find out. After all, you're coming with us," Aiba said before the teacher came in.

Shirota nodded before classes began.

----------

Classes before lunch ended earlier than usual with the class of first year section one. The teacher had to leave early due to an appointment somewhere.

Aiba sighed as he closed his book. "Early lunch~" he said. "Oh yeah. Yuu, try this for me will you?" he asked as he handed Shirota a tupperware. "Chocolate cake," he said as an explanation.

Shirota's eyes widened before he turned to Aiba. "You... a cake... learned... bake... to... how..?" he muttered, shaking his head when he realized it was out of order. "You learned how to bake a cake?" he tried again before opening the Tupperware.

Aiba nodded. "Aa, mom taught me how to make it," he said with a smile.

Shirota grinned, taking the fork that was there and took a piece off the cake and tried it. Chewing it for a few minutes, he looked over to Aiba, swallowed and gave him a thumbs-up. "Good job!" he complimented, taking another piece and savoring it.

"Then my first attempt at baking is a success!" Aiba said with a grin.

"You baked a cake?" Endo asked, suddenly appearing behind the two.

Shirota turned around and held the Tupperware to him. "Keep away from my cake," he said darkly.

Endo chuckled. "Hai, hai, I know how much you enjoy chocolate food, Shirota-kun," he assured him.

"Especially now that Aiba-kun made it for him," Zukki said as he joined the small group. "Konma-kun! Want to join us?" he called over.

Takuya nodded as he headed over to them with his lunch.

Shirota glared over to Zukki before forking another piece of the cake and brought it to his mouth.

Yanagi squeezed in with them with his packed lunch. "Count on Shirota to be greedy when it comes to anything chocolate," he teased.

Aiba grinned as he patted Shirota on the shoulder. "I still have some more if you want," he offered as he showed his own lunch.

"Hey guys~ I need some help with math...anyone willing to tutor me?" Endo asked as he looked at them.

"I can do it," Aiba volunteered.

"Me too!! I need help too!!" Yanagi piped up.

"How about we have a group study at my place, then?" Aiba offered.

"Sounds great!!" The group answered.

"How about you?" Aiba asked as he looked at Shirota.

Shirota chuckled. "I thought we were going to Takuya's place after school?" he inquired.

"We didn't mean today, of course," Aiba explained.

Endo nodded. "Aa, maybe this Thursday to help prepare for the test on Friday," he suggested.

"Then maybe we could sleep over!" Takuya added.

"A-no…we wouldn't really want to impose--" Zukki started.

"It's fine," Aiba said with a smile. "So…Thursday sound good with everyone?" he asked.

Shirota took another forkful of cake. "That sounds like a plan," he said before popping it into his mouth.

Aiba smiled. "Then I'll inform my parents about it tonight," he said.

"We can sleep over?" Takuya asked.

Aiba nodded. "I think we'll all fit in my room. What do you think, Yuu?" he asked.

Shirota nodded. "How can we not?" he said before he finished off the slice of cake and handed the empty tupperware to Aiba. "Sankyu."

Aiba smiled as he placed the tupperware back in his bag.

"Then maybe we could get some cake too!" Endo said suddenly.

Aiba's smile widened. "Sure Endo-kun."

Zukki laughed. "You're not trying to make an enemy of Shirota-kun, are you Endo-kun?" he teased.

Aiba laughed. "I'm sure that we can do something about that, Endo-kun," he said after a while.

"Sugee~ this is going to be so cool!!" Takuya cheered.

Shirota looked over to Aiba. "And what's that supposed to imply?" he said in mock hurt.

Aiba chuckled. "What I meant was we can do something about letting everyone have some cake without worrying that you're going to start a war," he said.

"Then I'll bake a cake too," Shirota replied before shuffling through his bag for his own lunch.

"Hmmm…how about you bake one with Aiba-kun?" Yanagi suggested as he looked at the two.

Aiba blinked and regarded the suggestion. "That could work too," he said.

"That's what I wanted to do, to be honest," Shirota said, grinning.

Aiba chuckled. "Then you could have just said so, Yuu," he said in amusement.

"I just phrased it wrong," Shirota defended.

"Hai hai~" Aiba said as he pulled out his book for the next class to attend to something for a while.

Shirota attended to his lunch in silence, enjoying some sushi.

"How about you guys? Do you know how to dance?" Takuya asked randomly.

"A little," Yanagi replied.

"Not that I'd like to," Endo responded.

"Not a strong point of mine," Zukki answered.

Shirota brought another sushi to his mouth, shrugging his shoulders.

Takuya grinned. "Then we should all try dancing!!" Takuya said happily.

Endo and Yanagi looked at one another, paling at the thought.

Shirota popped another sushi into his mouth.

Aiba chuckled. "Aw come on, guys. It'll be fun!!" Takuya said.

Shirota finished his last piece of sushi before finally turned to Takuya with a smile. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," he replied.

"SERIOUSLY?!?!" Endo and Yanagi said simultaneously, looking over to Shirota.

Zukki chuckled as Shirota turned to the two, glaring over to them. "What's that supposed to mean?" he inquired.

Takuya smiled widely. "This is just so cool!!!" he said as he pumped his fist into the air.

"Because..." Yanagi began, pointing to Shirota.

"...last time we saw you dance it was the tango with Kazuki on stage," Endo finished.

"Back during the musical," they said simultaneously.

Shirota frowned. "What's that have to do with anything?" he inquired.

"I think they mean that they think that you can only dance something that is choreographed," Aiba pointed out.

"That's not true!! Anyone can dance without choreography!!" Takuya said as he stood up. "Watch!" he said as he started to dance.

_'He's really good...'_ Aiba thought.

Shirota tilted his head as he watched Takuya dance in front of them. He looked over to Aiba before shaking his head. _'Stop thinking about that!'_ he told himself firmly.

Aiba noticed Shirota glance at him, he smirked. "Ne, Takuya...teach me that one later,"he said.

"No problem!" Takuya answered.

Shirota paused, looking back over to Aiba before scratching his cheek in distraction.

"Oi, why are you turning red?" Yanagi asked, noticing that Shirota had blushed and didn't waste time in pointing it out.

Takuya grinned as he sat back on the chair he had occupied a few moments ago. "I'm going to teach Aiba-kun to dance like a dancer in a club!" he proclaimed.

"Isn't that the one with the poles?" Endo asked.

"That and more~" Takuya replied.

Shirota's head sank to his desk.

"Oi, are you okay?" Zukki cried out, nearly standing.

Shirota brought his pen up, waving it around like a flag. "No more talk about this, please," he pleaded, bringing his head up. "At this rate, I'll be getting a nosebleed..." he muttered.

Aiba patted Shirota on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Yuu…I'm sure I won't be able to do it anyway," he said.

"Say that when I'm done with you later," Takuya told him with a smile.

----------

Takigawa was in the Council Room, finalizing the organization of the upcoming Sportsfest. He was finishing up with the filing before his cell phone vibrated. He paused and pulled it out, looking at the display. "An unknown number..." he muttered to himself before deciding to answer it. "Hello?"

_'Good Afternoon, Takigawa-kun. This is Shizuka, Kimeru's mother,'_ a voice from the other side of the line said pleasantly, _'I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything.'_

Takigawa straightened up. "Iie... You caught me during our lunch break..." he replied. "A-no, may I inquire why you didn't call Kime-kun up directly?"

_'Oh that would be because we want to surprise him,'_ Shizuka answered. _'My husband and I have heard that our son is staying with you. Kime can be such a handful sometimes and I hope he isn't being a bother for you…but I'll cut to the chase, Takigawa-kun. Would it be okay for us to visit sometime next week?'_ she asked.

Takigawa shook his head. "He's not a bother at all. In fact, he's quite a help around the house," he admitted. "And you're more than welcome to visit, Shizuka-san. Though... would it be alright if I told Kime about your visit anyway? I'd like to test something out tonight concerning his... soberness..." he added.

_'Oh dear...his friends managed to drag him to go drinking, haven't they…'_ she said in worry. _'It's alright, Takigawa-kun. Go ahead and tell him. I'm glad that what Furukawa-kun has told us is actually true- that he's really changing,'_ Shizuka paused for a bit. _'I look forward to meeting you, Takigawa-kun. Thank you for your time and I'll see you next week.'_ she said.

"Hai, arigatou gozaimashita," Takigawa replied before ending the call and replacing the device in his pocket. _'Come to think of it... We've never met each other's parents before...'_ he thought to himself with a small smile.

----------

Kimeru groaned as he woke up. He looked at the clock and notice that it was almost lunch time. "I better get some food in my system…" he muttered as he stood up.

----------

After finishing his filing, Takigawa stepped out of the Council Room and leaned back on the door for a minute. "Hmm... I wonder if Kimeru'll be able to make a proper lunch on his own..." he thought out loud before chuckling. "That would've been a nice sight to see..." he added before heading back to his classroom.

----------

After cursing a lot of kitchen utensils and some food from the fridge, Kimeru managed to finish making himself some lunch. After some time, while washing the dishes he had a realization. "Why didn't I just order take out?!"

----------

Takigawa took out his phone after eating lunch and decided to see how Kimeru was doing. He stepped out into the hall and dialed his house number and brought it to his ear.

Kimeru heard the phone ring as he was just going upstairs. He ran to the phone and answered it. "Takigawa residence," he said.

Takigawa chuckled from the other line. "I'm surprised you answered it in that manner," he called. "Did you manage lunch alright?" he inquired.

Kimeru grinned when he heard Takigawa's voice. "How else was I supposed to answer? It's your house after all," he said. "And I managed to make something for lunch so you don't have to worry," he added.

"That's reassuring. Listen, I got a call from your mom... Said she and your dad are coming over to visit the house next week," Takigawa said conversationally.

Kimeru, whose mind still couldn't put two and two together without breaking down, simply shrugged. "Okay," he answered.

Takigawa chuckled. "Well, that's about it. I'll see you later after my meeting with Moriyama-senpai," he said. "Get back to bed and get some more rest, Kime," he added before ending the call.

----------

Kimeru yawned before putting the phone back in place. "I think I need some more pain killers," he muttered before he went to the kitchen to take something to help his headache go away before going back upstairs to get some more sleep.

----------

Takigawa pocketed his phone before moving back inside. _'He'll still end up surprised,'_ he concluded as he took his seat for the remaining minutes of lunch break.

----------

After classes have resumed, the boys in first year section one went back to their respective seats and by the end of the academic hours Takuya went straight to Aiba. "So you're going to show me around right?" he asked.

"Wow...you can still be energetic after all that?" Zukki asked in amazement.

Takuya nodded. "It was all fun anyway!" he replied.

Shirota got to his feet after closing his bag. "So I'll meet you by the school gates, Hiroki?" he confirmed, looking over to the boy.

"Aa…" Aiba said with a smile. "And we're going to my place after!!" Takuya added.

"Jya, I'll be going ahead, then," Shirota said before leaving the classroom and headed for the Council Room.

"As for you two…" Aiba said as he grabbed Endo and Yanagi by the arms. "I have found a way to excuse the two of you from whatever activity you have after classes so that you cannot escape our little dance workshop later," he said with a smirk.

"Sugee Aiba-kun~" Takuya said in amazement.

Zukki chuckled. "And what would that excuse be?" he inquired.

"An interview by the school paper, of course," Aiba answered with a grin. "But I do have to interview the both of you..."

Endo and Yanagi looked at one another before looking over to Aiba. "Interview about what?" the two inquired hesitantly.

"About the Drama club and varsity basketball team," Aiba said as he looked at the two. "Isn't it convenient that I'm a writer in the sports section of the paper?" he added evilly.

"Drama is not a sport," Yanagi reasoned.

Zukki chuckled. "He's got a point there," he said, looking over to Takuya. "Which reminds me; you should bring some clothes for tomorrow's morning practice, Konma-kun."

"Okay no problem. And just call me Takuya~" Takuya told him.

"Yes but it's still a club nonetheless ergo a part of my section in the paper," Aiba answered.

"Then why aren't you inviting Zukki along?" Endo reasoned.

"Because Aiba-kun's already assigned to document the varsity soccer team's practices," Zukki fired back playfully as he fixed his bag.

"You should invite Kazuki-kun for an interview instead..." Yanagi suggested.

"I already did, and he and Date-kun will be interviewed as well," Aiba said with a wink towards Takuya. "They'll be here in around 5 minutes," he informed them as he looked at his watch.

"You really planned this out, Aiba-kun..." Zukki teased as he picked up his bag.

"All it took was a text to Yagami-senpai," Aiba said with a smile. "Oh look. They're here," he said as he saw Kazuki and Koji enter the 1-1 classroom.

"Well, enjoy yourselves, then," Zukki said before moving past Kazuki and Koji and out the door.

"Let's get this started!" Aiba said as he sat down on the table and the rest settled down.

Takuya was beside Aiba for the entire interview and afterwards he was introduced to Kazuki. Aiba was pleased to see that the two managed to get along quickly. _'It's all thanks to his bright personality,'_ he thought.

----------

Shirota had met up with Takigawa in the room to discuss a few last minute operations with concerns to the Sportsfest while waiting for Moriyama-senpai to arrive. By the time the president had arrived, they had conversed about the flow of the week-long program before drawing out a final layout of it care of Shirota.

"Looks like this year's Sportsfest will be quite an event," Takigawa said, leaning back on the couch.

----------

After the interview and when everybody else besides Aiba, Endo, Takuya and Yanagi were left in the room did Takuya started babbling about what he learned form Kazuki.

Aiba chuckled. "Well. It's almost time for us to meet Yuu by the school gates," he said.

----------

"Yosh, meeting's over," Moriyama announced, closing his folder. "The Sportsfest kicks off next week. Be sure to be here on Thursday for the final planning."

Takigawa and Shirota got to their feet, nodding. "Hai," they responded before leaving the Council Room.

"Are you heading home already, Eiji-senpai?" Shirota inquired as he and Takigawa headed down the flight of stairs.

Takigawa nodded. "Aa, Kimeru's resting at home and I was planning on preparing something special for dinner tonight."

----------

"...and we can use the costumes and the disco lights and the poles and-- Oh look! It's Shirota-kun!!" Takuya exclaimed as he spotted Shirota, the rest of the group turned around to see for themselves.

Aiba smiled. "There you are. Oh, hi Takigawa-senpai~" he greeted.

Takigawa nodded to the group as he and Shirota approached. "So you're all heading to Konma-kun's place now?" he inquired.

Shirota nodded. "Aa, see you tomorrow, Eiji-senpai," he called.

"I'll be going ahead then. Enjoy yourselves!" Takigawa replied before heading off for his house.

Shirota turned to the group once Takigawa left. "Saa, ikuyo?"

The rest nodded at him. "Let's go let's go!! I can't wait to get all of you to the dance studio!!" Takuya cheered.

Shirota moved to Aiba's side and chuckled. "Someone's got a lot of energy," he commented with a grin.

"Well, it is his first day around here so I guess it's still legal," Aiba said with a shrug.

"Besides, it's nice to have someone as enthusiastic as him in our class. It lessens the 'darn-I-sense-a-pop-quiz-today' aura in the room," he reasoned as he took hold of Shirota's hand after they started walking.

Shirota chuckled. "That's true..." he admitted as they started heading off to Takuya's place.

Endo and Yanagi were chatting with Takuya about a few things from his previous school and other random things. A little while later they arrived at a huge house.

Aiba blinked. _'Almost as big as ours...'_ he thought.

"My parents won't be around so we have the place to ourselves. I'll show you guys to the dance studio, come on!" Takuya said happily.

Shirota squeezed Aiba's hand as they followed Takuya into the house.

----------

Takigawa arrived home as Pearl came running towards him. "Hello there," he greeted, scooping the Yorkshire terrier with one hand before moving to the stairs. "Let's see if he's still sleeping..." he said quietly as he ascended the stairs.

----------

As soon as they reached Takuya's dance studio, Aiba's eyes went wide. "This is as big as nee-san's room...." he muttered as he looked around.

"And it has disco lights!" Takuya said as he pressed a button that caused the disco ball to appear.

"Not that I've seen how big your sister's room was..." Shirota commented.

----------

Takigawa opened the door to the bedroom and smiled to see Kimeru asleep on the bed. He looked over to Pearl and set her down. "Go and keep him company. I'll get started on dinner," he instructed before closing the door and heading back downstairs. Pearl moved forward and jumped onto the bed and snuggled up to Kimeru.

Kimeru smiled as he reached out for Pearl while asleep, pulling the dog a bit closer to him. "Fluffy..." he muttered.

----------

Aiba shook his head. "Believe me when I say that you wouldn't want to go in my sister's room..." he said

"If you say so..." Shirota replied feebly.

Yanagi stared at the disco ball above them. "Moriyama-senpai has one like that too at his place..." he said off-handedly.

Shirota turned to Yanagi. "What?"

"And how would you know that?" Aiba asked slyly as he looked at Yanagi. "You've been there, Yanagi-kun?"

Yanagi looked over to Shirota and Aiba, nodding. "A...Aa..." he replied feebly.

Shirota grinned. "Glad to hear that then!"

It was then that Takuya played some music. "Let's get going!" he said. "Let's start with you, Aiba-kun!" he said as he pulled Aiba to the center of the room.

"Do your best, Aiba-kun!" Endo cheered.

Takuya grinned as he took of the blazer of their uniform and Aiba did the same. "Just do what I do, Aiba-kun~" Takuya said as he demonstrated a dance.

And to the surprise of Aiba he managed to do the routine just a few minutes later.

Endo and Yanagi stared at this in bewilderment before the latter of the two looked over to Shirota. "Oi, your nose is bleeding," he pointed out.

Shirota turned to Yanagi. "Wha?" He pressed a finger to his face just beneath his nose and saw blood there. He blinked for a few seconds.

"Takuya, where's the washroom?" Endo called, raising a hand to get the boy's attention.

"Oh did someone get a nosebleed from watching his boyfriend dance?" Takuya asked inncocently. "Over there~" he said as he pointed to a door nearby. "Hai~ Endo-kun and Yanagi-kun are next…" he added as he dragged the two boys to the center of the room.

Aiba, in the meantime, went straight to Shirota. "You okay?" he asked.

Shirota nodded, pinching his nose before moving to the washroom. He emerged not long after, heaving a sigh of relief. "That was unexpected..." he admitted, grinning over to Aiba.

"Was it the nosebleed or the part where we discovered that I can actually dance?" Aiba asked with a grin.

"Both," Shirota replied immediately, bringing his attention to the two boys who were with Takuya at the moment.

Aiba chuckled. "Looks like they're doing great as well," he commented.

Shirota knew for a fact that the two were quite fond of the idea of dancing, but didn't really enjoy displaying it in front of the others. Upon seeing their progress, he smiled. "Those two..." he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

Aiba chuckled. "Looks like someone found a new past time," he said as he watched the three. A few more minutes later they were done.

"Okay~ Shirota-kun's turn…" Takuya announced.

Shirota waved his hands in front of him. "I'll end up embarrassing myself," he said.

"Hey, we did it," Endo argued, pulling Shirota's right arm.

Shirota winced, wrenching it away. "Don't do that!" he said, bringing a hand to his elbow.

Takuya noticed the way that Shirota subconsciously protected his right arm and realized that he was injured. He thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "I know~ I'll teach you the dance that's mostly footwork! I'm sure you can manage since you're a soccer player~~" he said as he took Shirota's left arm and dragged him to the center of the room.

"You can do it!" Aiba cheered from the sideline as Takuya played the music.

"Watch closely, Shirota-kun~" Takuya said before starting.

"Chotto..." Shirota was pulled to the center of the room and looked around before moving his attention to Takuya as he started to dance. He watched him for a while as he went through the routine before nodding. "I think I got it..." he replied, looking over to Takuya before he listened to the music. "Something like this?" he asked as he started off in synch with the music.

Takuya applauded. "Shirota-kun got it!" he cheered.

Aiba nodded with a smile. "As expected from someone with good coordination," he said.

Shirota blushed, scratching his cheek as Yanagi and Endo approached him.

"Why didn't you tell us you can dance like that too?" Endo inquired excitedly.

"That's because..." Shirota began.

"You'd do great in musicals with routines like these," Yanagi complimented.

"But that's not--"

"Everybody here, of course," Endo added with a grin before pointing to Yanagi. "Though I know I can dance better than you!"

"Is that a challenge?" Yanagi inquired.

"What if it is?" Endo answered.

"And I bet that Aiba-kun can beat the crap out of you both in dancing!" Takuya said as he pushed Aiba forward.

Aiba blinked before looking at the group. "I'm up to it." he said slyly.

"Showdown! Showdown!" Takuya cheered as he started the music again, and this time he activated the disco lights as well.

Shirota stepped back. "I'll pass," he said, grinning.

"I'll watch with Shirotan~" Takuya said as he went to the side. "Go Aiba-kun!" he cheered as the three started.

Yanagi was the first, deciding to break dance; a side of him that people rarely knew about. When he finished his routine, he pointed to Aiba.

Aiba smirked as he used some free style moves he learned from Takuya along with some he made up on the spot before pointing at Endo.

"Sugee~ they're all pretty amazing!!" Takuya said.

Shirota nodded in agreement as Endo did a progressive freestyle dance, incorporating a few break dancing and other moves. "Not that I can draw a winner from them..." Shirota admitted.

"I'd say that it's a tie~" Takuya said once the three were done. "Don't you agree, Shirota-kun?" he asked.

Shirota nodded. "Aa..." he replied.

Endo and Yanagi looked at one another before shaking hands. They parted and did the same with Aiba.

Aiba smiled and shook hands with the two.

Takuya went over to them. "Good job guys! Now who wants some snacks?" he asked.

Endo and Yanagi raised their hands immediately. "We do!" they said.

Shirota shook his head. "I--"

"You're having snacks!" Yanagi cut off.

Shirota turned to Yanagi. "I wasn't going to decline!" he reasoned.

"Cool~ Then you guys wait here while I get something for us all to snack on," Takuya said as he left before anyone could suggest that they help him.

"Takuya's really friendly isn't he?" Aiba voiced out. "We're lucky he ended up in 1-1."

"He'll be a great help in the Sportsfest, too…" Shirota pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You mean the one next week?" Yanagi inquired.

Shirota nodded.

"Aa, so what sport are you guys joining in?" Aiba asked. "Don't tell me that you're going for basketball, Endo...and soccer for you…" he said as he looked at Endo and Shirota respectively.

Shirota chuckled, shaking his head. "Different events take place for every day of the Sportsfest week comprised of different sports. It's a competition between classes."

"What sports have been chosen for the Sportsfest?" Endo inquired.

"Basketball, soccer and baseball, all team sports to foster camaraderie," Shirota answered. "One day will be allotted for each sport, each with a set amount of time shorter than the usual time period to allow everybody to be able to play. One class will emerge the winner for each sport by Wednesday afternoon. Thursday is a free-for-all sports day, in a fair-type setting where the varsity members allow the other students to try and accomplish a certain task for a prize. Friday is allotted for friendly matches wherein the varsity teams from the three aforementioned sports form two separate teams and invite other students to play with them."

"As expected of the Student Council to come up with all that..." Yanagi said.

"Er....does everybody need to participate in the sports?" Aiba asked.

Shirota nodded over to Aiba. "Everyone in the class needs to participate in _at least_ one sport for the competition. As for varsity members, only one from each class is allowed to participate in that particular sport if there is more than one. These will all be announced formally Thursday morning," he explained.

Aiba sighed. "I guess I would have no choice then…" he said.

"I'm back!" Takuya announced before throwing a bag of chips to Endo's general direction.

Endo caught the chips and proceeded to open the bag and shared it with Yanagi for the time being.

"I've started drafting a line-up for the teams from the class... though it's not final or anything…" Shirota said, looking over to Aiba.

"And where'd you put--" Endo started.

"You'll be playing in all three, Endo," Shirota replied curtly. "And I put Yanagi down for basketball." He paused and turned to Aiba. "I put you down for basketball as well."

Aiba fought back a grin. "What made you put me in basketball, if you don't mind me asking?" he said.

Takuya placed a tray of drinks on a nearby table. "What's that?" he asked as he went over to Shirota and Aiba.

Shirota took a glass and smiled. "It was a gut feeling I chose to stick with," he said before turning to Takuya. "It's about the Sportsfest. If buchou will allow it, I can have you as part of the line-up for our class soccer team as an exception so we'll be able to expose you to some games and see if you're a suitable candidate for the varsity team…" he explained.

"Sugee~ We're going to have a sportsfest!!" Takuya said excitedly. "I can't wait!"

Aiba chuckled. "I'm sure you can't."

Shirota nodded before having a sip of his drink before turning to the two. "Oi, share those chips!" he argued.

"I have another one here!" Takuya said as he handed another bag of chips to Shirota and Aiba.

Aiba took it and opened it. "Sankyu~"

Endo grinned over to Shirota as the boy in question moved to Aiba who had the chips. "Arigatou, Takuya-kun," he thanked with a curt nod.

----------

Takigawa had finished making dinner and had arranged it on a tray before heading upstairs to his bedroom. He pushed the door open and grinned at the sight before setting the tray down on the desk.

Kimeru was still fast asleep when Takigawa came in, his mind wondering off to his fantasies of performing on stage with Takigawa waiting for him at the backstage.

Takigawa approached the bed and smiled before bending low and placing a kiss on Kimeru's cheek. "It's time for dinner, Kime…" he whispered.

Kimeru smiled as slowly opened his eyes. "Eiji..." he muttered before grabbing Takigawa and taking him down on the bed. "Five more minutes…"

Takigawa, surprised by the gesture, smiled and placed an arm over Kimeru. "Alright, then… Five minutes," he said quietly.

Kimeru sighed before snuggling closer to Takigawa.

Takigawa smiled as he stroked Kimeru's hair for a moment while in thought. _'I want to make sure... That we won't drift apart... I want us to stay together... Forever...'_

Kimeru, as if sensing what Takigawa was thinking, moved a bit closer -if it was even possible. "We'll always have each other…" he mumbled.

Takigawa looked at Kimeru and chuckled. "Aa…We do…" he replied. Pearl found her way to the pillow and settled there by their heads.

After five minutes Kimeru blinked himself awake. "My head feels less like someone threw a party in it now…"

Takigawa chuckled as he sat up. "Well, hopefully some soup will calm you down," he said, getting off the bed and headed to the desk to retrieve the tray with the waiting food.

"Thanks…" Kimeru said as he looked at the food. "How about you? Have you eaten yet?" he asked.

Takigawa shook his head. "If I'm being honest, no I haven't. But it can wait," he admitted, moving back to the bed and sat down, setting the tray down on his lap.

Kimeru frowned. "That wouldn't be fair Eiji...why don't you just bring your food up too so we can eat together?" he asked.

Takigawa smiled before he took the spoon and took a spoonful of soup and held it out to Kimeru. "Because that would defeat the purpose of me feeding you tonight," he teased. "Saa, while it's still warm."

Kimeru blinked before blushing. "Alright..." he said before resigning himself to be fed his dinner.

When Kimeru's meal was all gone, Takigawa handed the boy a glass of water and some painkillers. "One more dose for tonight and you should be fine by morning," he instructed as he took the tray and got to his feet. "C'mon, Pearl," he called to the dog, who jumped down from the bed as they both headed for the door.

Kimeru nodded and took the painkillers before drinking the water and placing the glass on the table just beside the bed. "Hmm…" he thought as he looked at the door. "I wonder if I can get him to sleep beside me tonight…" he muttered.

----------

Pearl followed Takigawa downstairs as the latter moved into the kitchen, depositing the dirty dishes in the sink before he moved to prepare Pearl and Q's dinner. He filled two bowls and set one down for Pearl and moved to the other room with Q's food in hand before leaving it in the rabbit's cage before he went to attend to his own dinner.

----------

Kimeru yawned as he slumped back to the bed, looking at the ceiling. He thought for a moment about how smooth things were going for him. _'Never really expected this…'_ he thought in amusement. _'But it's well worth it.'_

_----------_

When Takigawa was done, he let out a yawn before he moved to do the dishes. Once finished, he went upstairs and returned to the bedroom. "I have a few assignments to do," he announced, moving to his desk and sat himself down. "Go ahead and get some sleep, Kime."

"This is why I think school is evil…" Kimeru muttered as he closed his eyes. "Oyasumi, Eiji...and don't stay up too late," he said.

Takigawa nodded before he turned to the desk and pulled out the things he needed from his bag.

----------

It was nearly midnight when Takigawa checked the time as he yawned, still at his desk. He was finishing up a report for approval that was needed for the Student Council the next day after he had finished with the rest of his assignments. After finishing the final sentence to the hand-written report, he pushed everything away and sank his head to the desk, dozing off there.

For one reason or another, Kimeru found himself awake at midnight. He opened his eyes and looked around; he noticed that the light in the room was off but the light from Takigawa's desk lamp was still on.

_'Wait...still on,'_ he thought with a frown as he sat up and saw Takigawa asleep on the desk. He sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" he muttered quietly as he stood up and managed to drag Takigawa to the bed. He placed the blanket over him before deciding to snuggle under the covers with him. Soon after, he fell asleep once more.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED. :D

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	13. Sportsfest: The Basketball Tournament

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 13th chapter entitled **Sportsfest: The Basketball Tournament**. This chapter details the first day of the Sportsfest with the basketball tournament. We watch as the sections fight against one another to see who comes out as champion of the sport; the favorites to win are Takigawa's class of 2-1 and Naoya's class of 2-2. Cheers are taken to a whole new level as displayed by Kimeru's support for his boyfriend, while Shirota and Aiba concentrate on staying in the tournament.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

Early the next morning, Shirota woke up early and prepared breakfast for himself. He ate and jogged off to school for their early morning practice.

----------

Takigawa stirred, his eyes opening as he found himself looking at the ceiling. Confused for a moment, he looked around and saw Kimeru beside him. He smiled. _'I'm surprised you dragged me to the bed...'_ he said in satisfaction as he sat up.

----------

Aiba was heading to school; he wanted to see how Takuya would do in the soccer field that morning so he made sure to wake up early. After leaving his bag in the classroom he went straight to the field and spotted Takuya there. "Takuya!' he called out as he approached.

"Aiba-kun! What are you doing here at this time?" Takuya asked as he waved at Aiba.

"I wanted to see how you would do today…and moral support," Aiba explained.

"Sugee~"

Aiba took out his camera and adjusted it. "I'm here so I might as well get some work done," he said with a smile.

----------

Shirota had retrieved his gym bag from the classroom and changed in the locker rooms before heading out to the field and approached Wada, handing out a piece of paper to him. "This is for you, buchou," he informed.

Wada took the paper and examined it. "Aa… Konma Takuya-kun, huh?" he said, grinning. "This will be interesting.

Shirota nodded. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor, buchou."

Wada turned to Shirota. "What would that be, Shirota-kun?"

----------

Takigawa shook Kimeru gently. "Kime, it's morning," he whispered.

Kimeru opened his eyes and looked at Takigawa. "Morning already?" he asked.

Takigawa nodded. "Aa," he replied, bending over and kissing Kimeru on the cheek. "Thank you for last night," he said before he moved to get up from the bed.

----------

After Shirota had explained the situation, Wada nodded his approval. "That would be interesting! Go ahead with it, Shirota-kun!" he said brightly.

Shirota nodded. "Arigatou, buchou." He moved towards Takuya and grinned at the sight of Aiba. "Someone's decided to join us for practice," he teased over to Aiba before turning to Takuya. "Ne, I've just gotten an approval from Wada-buchou. You can join me on the soccer team for our class next week!"

Takuya blinked. "Really?! That's so cool!!" he exclaimed in excitement.

Aiba chuckled. "It does sound like it," he said in amusement.

Shirota looked around. "Practice doesn't start in half an hour until everybody gets here," he explained. "And usually we end up in partners for certain drills."

"Shirota!! You up for some shooting practice?" Kentarou called, waving over to him as Irei was slipping on his gloves.

Shirota turned to Kentarou and nodded. "Sure thing!" he answered, looking over to Takuya. "Care to join us?" he offered.

"I can do that?" Takuya asked. "This is great! Thanks Shirota-kun!!' he said before going off to join them.

Aiba chuckled. "And so…another joins them," he said before snapping a picture.

After making the introductions, Shirota offered Takuya to take the first shot on goal with Irei defending it.

Kentarou tipped a ball to roll in front of Takuya.

----------

"Think you're up to going to school today, Kime?" Takigawa inquired as he moved to arrange the things on his desk.

Kimeru yawned before nodding. "I feel much better now so yeah...I'll go to class," he said.

Takigawa closed his bag after slipping everything into it and turned to Kimeru, nodding. "Glad to hear it. Saa, let's get breakfast ready..." he said, stifling a yawn before he moved to the door.

"I'll help you," Kimeru said with a grin as he got up as well.

----------

Takuya's shot on goal was caught with ease by Irei. "That was close~" he said in slight annoyance before grinning. "I'll get it next time!" Takuya declared.

Kentarou smirked. "Watching him reminds me of somebody..." he pointed out.

Shirota turned to Kentarou, raising an eyebrow. "And who might that be?"

Kentarou shook his head before lining up to take his own shot on goal.

----------

"Energetic isn't he?" a familiar voice said as Aiba took a picture.

"Yagami-senpai?" he asked as he looked at the third year. "Let me guess. You came to watch Kentarou-kun since you don't have anything else to do?" he asked which caused Yagami to chuckle.

"You could say that."

----------

Kentarou managed to score before nodding to Shirota, who grinned. "Nice shot. As expected of the team's forward," Shirota complimented.

Kentarou moved to trade places with Shirota. "Stop it with the flattery and just kick the ball," he said.

"That was an awesome shot, Kanesaki-kun!" Takuya cried excitedly. "You can even curve the ball~"

Kentarou smiled. "Sankyu. But I'm not the only one who can do that, though," he pointed out before gesturing to Shirota.

----------

"Do you have what I asked for, Aiba-kun?" Yagami asked.

Aiba nodded before handing him an envelope. "50 pictures of stolen shots of Kentaro-kun in the field and around the school," he said.

Yagami smiled as he handed Aiba another envelope. "And here's your payment."

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, senpai."

"Likewise Aiba-kun…likewise."

----------

"Sugee~!" Takuya exclaimed as he watched Shirota's shot curve past Irei and into the net. "I've been trying to do that for a long time now!" he admitted, running up to Shirota. "How do you do it?!"

Shirota looked over to Kentarou who chuckled at this before grinning. "Just a _lot_ a practice, Takuya-kun," he replied.

Zukki jogged up to the group, joining them. "Ohayou!"

"Ah, Zukki. You're finally here," Shirota said, nodding over to his classmate.

Zukki gestured a thumb in Aiba and Yagami's direction. "You and Kentarou have dedicated fans, Shirota-kun," he teased.

----------

Yagami was looked through the pictures when one caught his attention. "He brings a bear to school?" he asked incredulously as he stared at the picture.

"It's just a keychain senpai…" Aiba said as he glanced at the picture.

"Even so."

----------

Shirota chuckled, nodding. "Only kami knows what they talk about while we're training, Kentarou-kun," he teased before Wada called their attention about the start of training.

----------

Yagami and Aiba decided to stay on the benches as they watched the practice.

----------

Takigawa and Kimeru were downstairs in the kitchen. The former decided to make some oats for today as he moved to the pantry to retrieve what he needed.

Kimeru looked around the kitchen and was immediately distracted by Pearl who decided to join them.

Takigawa chuckled. "I'll take care of our breakfast, Kime," he reassured him as he looked at Pearl. "Someone wants a playmate, it seems."

Kimeru smiled as he picked Pearl up. "Okay," he said as he left the kitchen with the dog, heading to the living room to play with the pets for a while.

Takigawa continued his task of preparing the oats for today's breakfast, while getting some juice ready as well.

----------

The first bell rang. The four were already in their respective classrooms and the teachers were already checking attendance.

Aiba looked over at Takuya before he faced Shirota. "How do you think did Takuya do?" he asked quietly.

Shirota leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure he could've done better," he admitted in a hushed voice. "We'll still have afternoon practice and the Sportsfest for Wada-buchou to come up with a final decision," he said.

Aiba nodded. "I did some research when I got home. Just so happens that he was also a member of the soccer team from his previous school," he said as he slipped a paper on Shirota's desk. "Check it out for yourself."

Shirota took the paper as a smile crept up to his face. "No wonder..." he muttered, handing the paper back to Aiba. "My junior high faced theirs last year at the quarter finals of the Nationals," he explained. "They were a particularly annoying team to deal with."

Aiba smiled. "I can imagine," he said as he placed the paper back in his bag. "Looks like things are just getting better around here."

Shirota chuckled. "Aa, they sure are."

----------

It wasn't long before the next week rolled in, and the school was gathered in the auditorium for the opening ceremonies of the week's Sportsfest. Moriyama, Takigawa and Shirota were on-stage giving the last minute instructions and guidelines, as well as the schedule of the matches for the next three days of competition among the different classes.

Aiba looked at the schedule and sighed. "At least it gives me a break from club work and academics," he said as he browsed through it. "A-re? Teachers against students?" he asked.

"Where?" Takuya inquired as he looked at the schedule as well.

"There," Aiba said as he pointed to that certain event on the last day.

"...and finally, we've decided to hold a little event for the teachers to have a game against the students in basketball by the end of the week!" Moriyama concluded. We hope that you can all come and support your teachers and fellow classmates!"

"I want in on that one..." Aiba said with a smirk. "Says here that even the principal will be playing."

"Then I'm in too," a voice said from behind the two.

"Kimeru-senpai?" Aiba said as he looked around.

Kimeru smiled evilly. "Now's the chance to get back at him and get away with nothing but a foul," the junior told them.

As soon as Moriyama had declared the start of the Sportsfest, everybody cheered and moved to the gym accordingly, the classes who were to play the first two games ahead of the pack: the classes of 2-4, 1-3, 3-1 and 2-2.

"Looks like we have to wait for our turn~" Takuya said as he pulled Aiba away from the crowd.

"And between Naoya-kun and Ryunosuke-kun, it seems Naoya's preferred to play for their class," Takigawa nodded, sitting himself with Shirota and the others.

Yanagi blinked. "Moriyama-senpai's playing..."

Shirota and Takigawa chuckled. "We figured as much," they said together.

Aiba took out his camera. "Even if it's not for the paper, it'd be fun capturing everyone's most embarrassing and best moments in photo paper," he said with a grin.

"You're going to make a profit out of that..." Zukki stated.

Shirota grinned, lounging an arm over Aiba's shoulders. "I want to split the profits!" he negotiated.

"No problem," Aiba said as he snapped a random picture.

Takuya chuckled. "We could auction the pictures off!" he cheered.

Shirota turned to Takuya. "That's true..." he said, stroking his chin in contemplation.

Aiba smiled. "And it will all become our budget for a trip on summer," he said evilly.

"Trip?" Takuya asked.

"I'll tell you another time."

The two games started simultaneously, with 2-4 squaring off against 1-3, and 2-2 against 3-1. Takigawa watched with earnest as the games were underway.

Aiba zoomed in as one of the players passed them, "It's amazing how games like these can double the fansclub of a person," he said as he snapped a picture of Moriyama. "And I think this picture is going straight to Yanagi's walled once it's printed," he added with a grin.

"We didn't really notice that he was much of an athletic person since he didn't join any clubs," Shirota pointed out as he watched the game.

"That's true...which just proved that some people may have hidden talents," Aiba said as he glanced at Yanagi. "Will someone please tell him that he's drooling?" he teased.

Shirota turned to Yanagi and slapped him up the head. "Oi, control yourself," he hissed.

Endo was entranced in watching the other game, watching Kaji's performance.

Takuya chuckled. "Sugee~ It's the time to openly gape at your crushes without looking like an idiot!!" he said with a grin.

Aiba fought down a laugh. "It would seem so."

Takigawa consulted the schedule of matches. "If I remember correctly, Ara-yan's class enlisted Kazuki-kun to play for basketball today..."

Shirota turned to Takigawa. "Who will 1-2 be playing against?"

Takigawa looked over to Shirota with a smile. "3-2."

"That's Wada-buchou's class..." Shirota said, frowning.

"Kazuki-kun will be playing?! Sugee!! Aiba-kun, take pictures of him please..." Takuya begged his friend.

Aiba nodded. "No problem, Takuya," Aiba replied.

----------

The first two games had finished, with 1-3 winning against 2-4 with a score of 24 to 15, while 2-2 won against 3-1 with a score of 32 to 29. The next two games between 3-2 and 1-2 and 2-3 and 3-4 were announced to begin in five minutes.

Shirota turned to Kimeru. "Ne, aren't you playing for your class, Kimeru-senpai?"

Kimeru nodded before standing up. "Aa, but I absolutely suck in basketball so don't expect too much of me," he said with a chuckle. "See you guys later," he said as he went down the bleachers to get ready.

"Liar..." Takigawa muttered.

Shirota turned to Takigawa. "What?"

"He can play decently. I'll give him credit for that," the second year said.

Aiba chuckled as he checked the memory of his camera. "I'll be taking a lot of pictures of Kimeru-senpai," he said. "I have a feeling that his will be the ones to be sold out first." He looked at Takigawa and grinned. "But of course I'll give you the best copies, Takigawa-senpai," he said.

Takigawa nodded to Aiba. "I'll appreciate the gesture," he said plainly.

Shirota looked over to the other court. "Ara-yan's class against Wada-buchou's class... I wonder who'll win?" he thought.

"Araki's quite fast and accurate with his shots," Endo offered.

"Then it might be an evenly matched game," Aiba said as he brought his camera up and turned to face Shirota. "Yuu, smile," he said before taking a picture of Shirota.

Shirota posed, grinning as Aiba took the shot before he looked over to the courts. "Ah, the two games are starting."

"For one thing, the varsity players playing for their classes would get immediate attention," Shirota pointed out, gesturing to Takigawa and Endo. "Like these two."

"For others, just spotting them on the court would get them to cheer," Yanagi said, pointing to Kimeru. "Like Kimeru-senpai."

Aiba nodded and took some pictures. "Kimeru-senpai looks good in shorts…" he said slyly.

"You don't have to say it out loud..." Shirota said, looking over to Aiba, chuckling.

Takigawa silently agreed as he moved his attention to Kimeru's game as it started.

As the game went on, Aiba couldn't help but notice that the cheers were getting louder as each quarter passed.

"Sugee~ That was a nice move!!" Takuya said as he pointed at the players.

Yanagi and Endo had excused themselves from the group to get ready for their game that was scheduled to be next. Takigawa watched them leave before he turned to Shirota. "Aren't you going with them?" he inquired.

Shirota smiled. "Aa, I guess I should, shouldn't I?" he said cheekily before turning to Aiba. "Are you joining us?"

"Hai~ Here Takuya, have fun with it," Aiba said as he handed his friend the camera.

"I'll take a lot of pictures of Shirota-kun!!" Takuya promised as the group left.

----------

It didn't take long before the two games ended. 2-3 had managed to defeat 3-4 with a score of 30 to 21, while 1-2 took the win against 3-2 with a close score of 26 to 25.

"Let's continue with the next two games! Court A, we have class 1-1 against class 2-5! On Court B, we have class 1-5 against class 3-3! Players, you have 10 minutes to warm up on the court before we begin!" a teacher announced as the players for the four classes stepped onto the respective courts.

----------

Takigawa leaned forward in anticipation. "This will be an interesting game to watch..." he said with a smile. "And quite a line-up for Shirotan's class..." he pointed out.

----------

"I'm getting nervous…" Aiba said as he looked at his classmates.

Shirota patted Aiba on the shoulder. "Don't be," he reassured him.

Endo smirked. "Show some confidence in your skills, Aiba," he said, dribbling a ball as he took a shot at the basket.

Aiba looked at the net before nodding, deciding to try to boost his confidence with a few practice shots.

"You're pretty good, Aiba," Zukki complimented.

Aiba smiled. "Thanks Zukki...now I think we actually have a chance," he said.

Shirota moved to the side to discuss a few things with Endo concerning the defense.

----------

Kimeru had headed back to the bleachers and grinned as he sat down beside Takigawa. "I'm back~" he said.

Takigawa turned to Kimeru, nodding. "Good game. Congratulations," he said with a warm smile.

Kimeru grinned. "Thanks~ So whose playing?" he asked.

"The game you'd like to watch is the one between Shirotan and Aiba's class against 2-5," Takigawa offered, pointing to them on the court.

"Against 2-5, huh? Well...I hope they win!" Kimeru said.

----------

"Aibacchi," Shirota called, jogging up to him. "We'll be starting soon. Let's discuss the strategy with Yuuyan," he said, gesturing to the bench as he turned to Zukki. "You too, Zukki." As Zukki moved off, Shirota turned to Aiba. "And the only reason I didn't call you by your first name is because it would've made Zukki look over too," he added with a grin.

Aiba chuckled. "I know," he said before patting Shirota on the head before heading to the others.

----------

It wasn't long before the game had begun. Endo, Yanagi, Shirota, Aiba and Zukki were playing first for their class. The game proceeded with much excitement, with excellent shots, steals and passes executed equally across the two courts. Takuya was eagerly taking pictures, while Takigawa and Kimeru watched in interest, cheering them along.

Takuya checked the pictures as the game reached half time. "Sugee~ I managed to catch some aerial shots." he said as he browsed through the gallery.

"They've taken a comfortable lead," Takigawa noted. Class 1-1 was leading by at least 10 points coming into half-time.

----------

Endo looked around. "Alright, two more quarters. Since the duration isn't like a regular game, we'll have to keep moving around so can find an opening to score," he instructed.

"They're good in faking fouls..." Aiba noted with a frown. "Not to mention that they do some of it intentionally...."

"If we play as we've been doing we should be fine," Shirota offered.

Aiba nodded. "That's true, but we have to be careful. We don't want to be fouled out in the last two quarters..." he said.

"We won't be," Endo stated boldly. "Alright..." he turned to the bench and called in a few of their other classmates. "The two of you will be substituting for Yanagi and Zukki," he finished before they had to get back onto the court.

"Let's end this with a bang, then, Yuuyan," Shirota said with a smirk.

"Aa, let's," Endo replied.

----------

Kimeru smirked as he looked at the players. "Looks like some of them are getting in the mood for an all out victory…" he observed.

Takuya nodded. "Come on guys!! You can do it!!" he cheered.

The games restarted not long after. More cheering ensued and more plays were made from both teams. It didn't take long before the buzzer for both games sounded, ending them. 1-1 managed to beat 2-5 with an overwhelming score of 36 to 23, while 3-3 won against 1-5 with a score of 27 to 18.

"The next two games will be between class 2-1 and class 1-4, and class 1-3 and class 2-2. Please get yourselves ready!" the teacher announced.

----------

Takigawa got to his feet, patting Kimeru on the head. "I'll see you later, then," he said before heading off to the courts.

Kimeru nodded before glancing up to his friends on the top most area of the bleacher.

Nagayan gave Kimeru the thumbs up signal before the vocalist stood up and headed to them.

"Here you go. Chibified with the little unnoticeable heart in the corner," Furukawa said as he handed Kimeru a huge flag.

"I never asked for a heart!" Kimeru hissed.

Furukawa smiled. "Oh you did. You were just too drunk to remember," he said.

----------

Shirota and the others headed to the bleachers not long after they were finished with their first game. "So now it's Eiji-senpai's turn to play..." Shirota said, taking a seat on the bleachers. "This will be exciting."

"Takigawa-senpai and Gomoto-senpai from class 2-2... Why do I have a feeling they'll be the ones leading their teams to the finals today?" Endo inquired to himself.

Takuya handed the camera back to Aiba once they got back. "I got some great shots!" Takuya said with a smile.

Aiba nodded gratefully and browsed through the pictures. "Wow...you did," he said.

Shirota took a moment to squeeze himself beside Aiba to see the screen on the camera. "Lemme see," he said.

"Here..." Aiba said as he lifted the camera a bit for Shirota to see. "Most shots are you."

"EH!?!?!?!" Shirota exclaimed, blinking at the screen as Aiba browsed through the gallery.

"Heh... Nice shots there," Endo complimented, who was viewing it over Shirota's shoulder.

"You caught some excellent photos, Takuya-kun," Yanagi complimented.

Takuya grinned. "Of course! If I didn't then Aiba-kun would have strangled me by now," he said.

_'You bet I would,'_ Aiba answered in his mind.

Shirota looked over to Aiba, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh look, the games are about to begin!" Endo called, moving their attention to the courts.

Aiba turned his attention to the court. "It's Takigawa-senpai's game, right?" he asked.

Shirota nodded. "It'll be an interesting game considering the vice-captain of the varsity team will be playing..." he paused and looked around. "A-re? Where's Kimeru-senpai?" he inquired.

Aiba looked around. "Up there with the band," he pointed out. "A-re? Is that Takigawa-senpai's face chibified?!"

Shirota looked over to where Aiba said before blinking. "EHH?!" he exclaimed in surprise. "You're right... It is..." he stated.

"This has got to be one of the highlights of the Sportsfest," Aiba said as he readied is camera.

"Kimeru-senpai cheering for Eiji-senpai with that flag or the game?" Shirota inquired.

"Both, I think," Aiba said. "Oh look they're calling out the starting five now. Let's see what happens," he said as he looked at the courts.

There was a loud cheering for both games, especially for the two varsity players playing from each game; Takigawa Eiji from 2-1 and Gomoto Naoya from 2-2. Screams tried overpowering each other for the two as the rest of the teams for the two games were announced.

Shirota chuckled. "Eiji-senpai really has a lot of fans..." he noted before looking over to Kimeru. "But I think I'll have to hand it to Kimeru-senpai for showing the most support with that flag.

Kimeru grinned as he held up the flag. "GO EIJI!!" he cheered, Nagayan backing him up with a beat from the drum set nearby.

Both games had started with the cheers not showing any signs of dying down anytime soon.

"It's as if we're already watching the finals..." Shirota stated loudly over to Endo as the crowd cheered wildly as Takigawa had made a successful shot.

"Yeah, they really expect 2-1 to go up against 2-2 in the finals this year. Even our captain from 3-3 says so!" Endo stated back in reply.

"Aren't we facing them next?"

Endo nodded.

"We're facing one of THEM?!" Aiba asked in shock.

Shirota turned to Aiba. "We'll be facing 3-3 first, which is where the basketball captain is. If we beat them and Eiji-senpai's class beats their next two opponents, then we'll be facing 2-1 in the semi-finals," he explained.

Aiba blinked. "The captain?!" he asked incredulously.

Takuya chuckled. "It'll be fun to watch!!"

"Don't have to get so surprised," Shirota reassured him with a chuckle. "Let's just take things one game at a time."

"Aa, the captain isn't as intimidating as Takigawa-senpai or Naoya-senpai when it comes to games, believe me," Endo added.

"My first ever chance playing basketball in a Sportsfest..." Aiba said with a sigh. "Well...It'll be a fun challenge."

"That's the spirit! Now let's cheer for Eiji-senpai!" Shirota said as they returned their attention to the game.

Aiba nodded before looking at the game. "Go Takigawa-senpai!!" he cheered.

----------

Kimeru was now just cheering at the top of the bleachers.

"Someone's going to have no voice tomorrow..." Daisuke muttered over to Furukawa who just chuckled.

----------

Both games continued with the energetic cheering until they ended. 2-2 had won against 1-3 with a score of 37 to 26, while 2-1 claimed an overwhelming victory against 1-4 with a score of 40 to 22.

"The next two games shall now begin. Section 2-3 versus section 1-2 and section 1-1 against 3-3. Please make your way to the courts for a 10-minute warm-up," the teacher announced.

----------

"It's our turn again," Yanagi pointed out.

"Let's give it our best shot, then," Zukki said.

"Ikuzo, Aibacchi," Shirota said cheerfully.

Aiba stood up. "Aa. Here's the camera again, Takuya," he said as he handed Takuya the camera.

Takuya grinned at them. "I'll take pictures of everyone this time," he said.

----------

Moriyama smirked. "Shirota-kun's class will be playing 3-3 where the captain of the basketball team is... This will be interesting..." the president thought out loud.

"Kimeru's class will be playing against Ara-yan's class, too," Takigawa added as he joined his senpai.

"That's true. I wonder who'll advance to the next round, though…" Moriyama said, stroking his chin in thought.

Kimeru spotted Takigawa and headed straight to him after handing the flag to Nagayan.

Takigawa looked over to find Kimeru approaching them. "Don't you have a game to prepare for?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to ask you on your opinion on the flag before I do," Kimeru answered before pointing at Nagayan who was waving at them.

"Flag?" Takigawa turned to Nagayan who was holding it before blinking. His cheeks heated up before clearing his throat, nodding. "It's... It's nice..." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kimeru grinned. "Glad to know~" he said before joining the rest of his classmates to prepare.

Furukawa went over to Takigawa and sat beside him. "So...how are you doing?" he asked.

Takigawa turned to Furukawa, blinking. "Doing with what?" he inquired sheepishly.

"With....that guy over there," Furukawa said as he gestured to Kimeru somewhere among his classmates.

Takigawa followed Furukawa's hand before chuckling. "Oh. We're doing just fine," he answered.

Furukawa chuckled. "That's good to know..." he said with a smile. "You'll stick with him whatever happens, right?" he asked.

Takigawa nodded. "Until one of us decides to let go for one reason or another... I'll stay with him," he replied.

Furukawa patted him on the shoulder. "Believe me...when you two let go, you'll be able to find each other again," he said.

Takigawa smiled. "Aa, I'd like to believe in that as well..." he said fondly.

----------

Shirota, Aiba, Endo, Yanagi, Zukki and the rest of their class played an interesting game with 3-3 on one court, while Kimeru and his classmates squared off against Ara-yan's class of 1-2. Amidst the cheers and all the scoring, the two games ended with 1-2 winning against 2-3 with a score of 35 to 32, and 1-1 winning against 3-3 with a score of 31 to 28.

"We shall have the game between section 2-1 and section 3-5 before we break for lunch!" the teacher announced.

Furukawa smiled. "Well, that's your cue Takigawa," he said.

Takigawa smirked as he got to his feet. "Remember, I signed you up to play baseball for the class on Wednesday," he said slyly to his classmate before heading to the courts.

"Hai hai~" Furukawa said with a smile. "I'll tell Daisuke-kun to blame you if ever I get any injuries because of it then," he added slyly.

Takigawa rolled his eyes at this and joined his other classmates on the court to warm-up.

Furukawa stood up and went back to the top of the bleachers to rejoin the Band Club and their cheering.

----------

Shirota and the rest of his classmates took their place at the bleachers for the last game before the break.

"We really will be expecting a showdown between Naoya-senpai and Takigawa-senpai for the Finals. I can feel it," Endo stated.

Shirota nodded. "I can more or less figure that out as well," he said in agreement.

Aiba sighed. "I just want to make the most out of every game," he said with a shrug.

Shirota laughed as he turned to Takuya. "So were you able to take any good shots, Takuya?" he inquired.

Takuya nodded and handed them the camera. "I took other interesting pictures too," he said with a grin.

"And what do you mean by 'interesting pictures', exactly?" Shirota inquired, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"As my sister calls it: 'Bishie Moments'," Takuya said slyly.

Shirota furrowed his brows. "And what do you mean by that, exactly?" he asked hesitantly.

Takuya grinned. "Moments that make the fangirls...or in this case...fanboys pleased," he explained.

Shirota frowned as he looked over the pictures with Aiba.

"Takuya……these pictures..." Aiba started.

Takuya grinned. "I told you they were good...so do I get profits?" he asked innocently.

Aiba smirked. "Aa."

Shirota chuckled as he took the camera when Takigawa's game was about to begin. "Give me that. I want to take a few pictures," he said cheerfully.

"Go ahead," Aiba said as he brought out a video camera from nowhere.

The game began as Shirota eagerly started taking picture of not only the players - though most of which were of Takigawa-, but also of the crowd. He managed to take a picture of Kimeru who had returned to waving the flag around and grinned.

Aiba grinned as he zoomed in on the players on the court. He was going to earn a lot from this video alone. Kimeru had asked him to take a lot of pictures and some videos, for reasons that the junior didn't tell him. He shrugged as he continued filming the game.

It didn't take long before Takigawa's game had ended with 2-1 winning against 3-5 with a score of 38 to 21.

Shirota reviewed his pictures when everybody was eager for the lunch break before they continued the semi-finals in the afternoon.

"How did the pictures come out?" Aiba asked as he ended the recording.

Shirota turned to Aiba with a satisfied grin. "Have a look for yourself and tell me," he said, handing out the camera to him.

Aiba took the camera and browsed through the pictures that Shirota took. "Good shots," he complimented before grinning.

Takuya looked over Aiba's shoulder to look at the pictures, "Can I see?" he asked. Aiba nodded before handing him the picture.

----------

Takigawa returned to the ground, wiping a towel to his face. "Shall we head off to lunch?" he offered.

At this point, Shirota went over and glomped Takigawa. "Nice game, Eiji-senpai!" he cheered.

Takigawa looked at Shirota as soon as he got his balance, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, Shirotan..." he stated, trailing off as he shook his head.

Kimeru went over the group and latched on to Takigawa's arm. "I wanna head to the cafeteria~" he said.

Shirota let go of Takigawa before moving over to Aiba.

Takigawa nodded. "Alright. Lead the way, then," he said, chuckling.

Kimeru smirked at the people around them who immediately moved to the sides and made way for them.

Aiba blinked when he noticed this. "What the…"

Takigawa managed to grab hold of Shirota's wrist. "Hang on tight," he warned lightly.

Shirota blinked but grasped Aiba's hand with his other hand. "Why?" he inquired.

Kimeru smirked before dashing to the cafeteria, dragging the other three in the process.

"KIMERU-SENPAI!!!" Aiba yelled but Kimeru took no notice.

"I TOLD YOU TO HANG ON TIGHT!!" Takigawa called quite comfortably.

Shirota paled. "DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE USED TO BEING DRAGGED AROUND?!" he declared.

Takigawa merely grinned but didn't answer the question.

Nagayan, who was walking along the path to the cafeteria, heard a familiar sound from behind and stepped aside just in time as Kimeru and the other three passed.

Once they had reached their destination, Shirota caught his breath, glaring over to Takigawa. "A warning would've been nice..."

"I did," Takigawa reasoned. "I told you to hang on tight."

Shirota frowned. "That didn't explain anything about being dragged off suddenly!"

Aiba sighed. "Having been with Kimeru-senpai for a while, I sort of expected this..." he admitted as Kimeru wondered off to check out the food available.

Shirota turned to Aiba, distraught. "And you didn't tell me this sooner, why?"

"I never thought that you would have to experience it," Aiba admitted with a sheepish smile.

Shirota gestured to Takigawa. "The boyfriend's close friend," he said in a hushed whisper to Aiba.

Aiba chuckled. "Oh yeah," he said in amusement.

Kimeru returned to them, holding a tray of food. "What are you standing there for? The line is going to get longer," he said.

Takigawa moved over to the line quite quickly, followed immediately by Shirota and Aiba.

Aiba sighed as he looked at the line and frowned inwardly when he saw that it was very long already. "I hate lines," he muttered.

Takigawa looked at the line for a minute and chuckled. "Wait, I have packed lunch," he said, stepping out of the line, pulling Shirota with him. "I'm assuming you have as well?"

Shirota nodded.

Aiba frowned. "I don't have pack--"

"Here share mine," Kimeru offered suddenly.

Aiba blinked at him. "Are you sure, senpai?" he asked.

Kimeru nodded.

"Shirotan and I will be getting ours. See you on the roof?" Takigawa offered.

Kimeru nodded. "We'll meet you there. Let's go, Aika!" Kimeru teased as he walked off.

"IT'S AIBA!!" the younger yelled as he followed the junior.

Shirota chuckled before following Takigawa off back to the courts to retrieve their said lunches.

----------

Kimeru kicked the door open and grinned in approval when he saw that no one was there.

Aiba blinked. "Aren't your friends always here?" he asked.

"Not this time. I heard they went off to annoy Daisuke about something," Kimeru answered.

----------

Takigawa reached the nearly-deserted covered courts and moved to the locker rooms.

"Eiji-senpai, how are things coming along with Kimeru-senpai lately?" Shirota inquired.

Takigawa chuckled. "Let's just say that Kimeru's going to get a surprise tonight when we get home," he said.

Shirota blinked but said nothing as he retrieved his lunch from his bag.

----------

Aiba and Kimeru sat down at a place near the fence.

"So how are you doing, Aiba?" Kimeru asked randomly

Aiba shrugged. "Fine, I guess..."

----------

"And you're not going to tell me about it?" Shirota coaxed as he followed Takigawa up to the roof.

Takigawa shook his head. "I don't think I need to," he replied.

----------

"So you really didn't plan on holding back?" Kimeru asked in surprise.

Aiba shook his head. "I had my credit card at the ready," he said slyly.

Takigawa opened the door to the roof and looked around.

"There they are," Shirota pointed out.

"About time," Kimeru said with a grin.

"So what have you two been talking about while we weren't around?" Shirota inquired cheekily as he approached them and sat down beside Aiba.

"Nothi--"

"About how Aiba was ready with his entire back account during the auction," Kimeru cut in with a grin.

Shirota blinked, looking over to Aiba with a questionable look. "Eh?"

Aiba shook his head. "It's nothing…" he said with a glare at Kimeru who grinned at him as a reply.

Takigawa sat himself down and opened up his packed lunch. "Well, let's forget about that for now, shall we? We'll need to head back for the second half of the basketball tournament soon."

Aiba nodded as he started to eat whatever Kimeru had handed him, which happened to be an assortment of sushi.

"Since when does the canteen sell this?" Aiba asked in confusion.

Kimeru shrugged. "They always do during school events," the junior answered.

Takigawa feasted on one of his usual dishes, while Shirota was downing a simple bento box meal he prepared himself.

----------

After finishing more than half of what he bought, Kimeru looked at the group. "I want to see you in a cooking show," he said randomly as he looked at Takigawa.

Takigawa shook his head. "I'd be a mess..." he muttered.

"No you won't," Kimeru argued.

Aiba sighed. "And how do you suppose will he have his own cooking show?" he asked.

Kimeru grinned. "I'll be a famous J-Pop artist remember? I'm sure I could pull a few strings."

Shirota chuckled. "I bet it's the bundle of nerves he'll be sporting," the youth said.

Takigawa shrugged. "Maybe it is."

Kimeru chuckled. "Why would you be? You'll just be facing a camera and not actual people," he said with a grin. "That would mean that I would just have to surprise you, ne?" he teased.

Aiba rolled his eyes. "People would rather be prepared for things like that, senpai," he told the junior.

Shirota chuckled. "But Eiji-senpai is a master chef already~" he chimed in. "I'm sure he can make whatever needs to be made without problems."

Kimeru grinned. "Then there's no problem in that anymore now, is there?" he said.

Aiba tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Why are you so intent on getting him to be in a cooking show anyway?" the younger asked.

Kimeru chuckled. "I wanna see how he looks under spotlight."

"There could be other ways for you to see that, though..." Shirota offered.

"Like what? Casting him in a musical like the school play?" Kimeru teased. "Hey...that's a good idea..."

"I doubt I'd be picked for any of those kinds of things..." Takigawa reasoned with a slight frown.

"Will you cheer up, Eiji-kun?" Shirota teased as he took another bite out of his lunch.

Aiba tilted his head to the side in contemplation. "I think you would do well in another musical seeing that you did well during the play, Takigawa-senpai."

"Just finish eating. We still have a competition to get back to," Takigawa prompted them as he returned his attention to his lunch.

Aiba blinked before returning his attention to his lunch.

Kimeru chuckled. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that."

----------

When the four were finished with their lunch, they made their way back to the gym where the semi-finals were going to begin promptly.

A teacher approached the microphone. "Welcome back to today's basketball tournament. We shall continue with the semi-final games. Will the teams of sections 2-2 and 1-2 proceed to Court A, and the teams of sections 1-1 and 2-1 to Court B!"

"Looks like we'll finally be facing each other now," Shirota stated as he, Aiba and Takigawa headed out to the designated court.

Takigawa nodded. "Not that it'll make any difference to how we'll be playing. Don't-"

"Hold back, I know, I know," Shirota interjected, clapping the older boy on the back. "May the best team win~"

Takigawa smirked. "Aa."

----------

Kimeru, in the meantime, was with the band once more, waving that flag of his.

----------

Aiba blinked as he walked towards the others with Shirota. He looked at their opponents and inwardly groaned. _'I just hope to get out of this without injuries....'_ he thought.

Takigawa noticed Aiba's passing glance before approaching him. "No need to worry about them, Aiba-kun," he reassured him. "Tuti and the others aren't the type to get too physical than they need to."

"Aibacchi! Time to strategize!" Shirota called, already forming the circle with Endo, Zukki and Yanagi.

Aiba nodded at Takigawa before heading off towards his team. "Sorry about that," he muttered as he joined the group.

"Don't worry about it. Now, of course, we'll need to worry about Takigawa-senpai in particular for this game..." Endo began. "But with concerns to the height disadvantage if I match up with him, I think either Shirotan or Aiba-kun marks him."

Yanagi nodded. "At least that'll give us time to adjust our defense and use Yuuyan's ability to steal the ball," he added.

Aiba immediately looked at Shirota. "I suggest that Yuu does it since he has played with Takigawa-senpai before."

Shirota nodded. "Alright..."

Endo smiled. "Okay, then. On to more pressing matters..."

Aiba listened to the strategy of the group, groaning inwardly as he heard the whistle of the referee, signaling the start of the game.

Shirota and Takigawa took their positions at the center circle.

"I figured you'd be the one who'll be marking me," Takigawa teased.

Shirota grinned. "Well, it pays to have played with you a few times in the past, doesn't it?" he replied.

The referee brought the ball forward.

"Let's see if those days in the park will prove useful for you, Shirotan," Takigawa challenged, getting ready to jump.

"They will be... I'll see to that..." Shirota replied; his eyes on the ball as the game began.

Aiba sighed inwardly as he looked the two. "This is going to be interesting..." he muttered.

Both Takigawa and Shirota jumped for the ball, with Takigawa's slight height advantage earning his team possession. He tapped it backwards for Endo to quickly intercept the ball.

Aiba moved into position, following the strategy that was laid out by Yanagi before the game.

As soon as Endo had stolen the ball, everybody moved into position. Endo dribbled the ball towards their court as he evaded his defense and passed the ball to Aiba.

As soon as Aiba caught the ball, there was already someone blocking his way. _'They're fast...'_ he thought with a frown as he looked around the court. Spotting who he was looking for, he faked a shot and passed the ball to Shirota.

"Nice pass!" Shirota called with a grin as he took the ball and found Takigawa already in defense. He dribbled the ball for a moment. _'Now, if I'm reading this correctly...'_ Shirota thought to himself before he eluded Takigawa with a fake side-step before continuing towards the goal area, spotting Yanagi and passed the ball over with a bounce pass.

Yanagi took the ball and made a quick shot as the ball went in, earning their team the first two points of the game.

"Alright, Yuu!" Aiba said with a grin as he moved up to him before getting into position once more. _'I knew it was a good idea to make them go against one another.'_

Shirota nodded to Aiba before he took a defensive stance as Takigawa and his team started their attack.

Takigawa moved forward and took his position near Shirota; a smile on his face. _'Looks like there shouldn't be any room for underestimating anybody on this team...'_ he noted, looking over his shoulder for a moment. The ball was with Toru.

Aiba frowned inwardly. _'The only advantage they have is that they're taller than most of us,'_ he thought.

Takigawa raised his hand, seemingly signaling Toru to pass him the ball. The ball, however, was directed to Tuti, who took the ball and slowly dribbled it. Zukki was defending him.

Tuti faked a shot before passing it inside to one of their other teammates who cut past Yanagi and managed to catch the pass and quickly make a successful jump shot.

----------

Kimeru smirked as he watched from the bleachers. "Alright section one!!" he cheered.

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "A few months ago that wasn't what you would have said," he muttered darkly.

----------

Shirota patted Yanagi on the way back. "Don't mind it, Yanagi-kun. We'll get that back!" he said with ease.

Yanagi was dribbling the ball forward with a firm nod. "Aa."

Endo nodded. "You know what to do, Yanagi," he instructed before moving forward.

The next play was Endo's concoction. The ball, which started with Yanagi, was passed smoothly Zukki's way. Zukki managed to hold the ball long enough despite Tuti's defense and passed it to Endo, who inched away from Toru's defense and stepped back behind the 3-point line and took a shot. The ball whizzed into the basket.

Aiba looked at the score, before glancing at his team mates. "All this seriousness over a Sportsfest game?" he mumbled to himself.

Shirota grinned as he passed Aiba. "Don't misunderstand, Aibacchi. We just enjoy a serious game like this and can't help but give our best. It'd be disrespectful to let our guards down otherwise against Eiji-senpai's team," he explained.

Aiba blinked. "You heard me?"

Shirota simply nodded. "Now, let's get in defense, Aibacchi!"

Aiba chuckled and got into position. "Strange guy..." he said in amusement.

----------

The game continued with most of the points coming from Takigawa, Toru, Shirota, Endo and Aiba. The game continued until the final whistle blew, ending it with a score of 44-30 in 2-1's favor.

Takigawa approached Endo, outstretching his hand. "Nice game."

Endo took the hand and shook it, nodding to the upperclassman. "Arigatou, Takigawa-senpai."

----------

Aiba was panting when the game ended. "I must be really out of shape..." he groaned.

"Maybe I should get you to start exercising with me sometime," Shirota said, slightly out of breath as he gently patted Aiba on the shoulder.

"Maybe....or I think I should take up dance..." Aiba mused.

"Whichever you're more comfortable with, Hiroki," Shirota reassured him.

"Dancing," Aiba said with finality. "Who knows...maybe I can become a dancer~" he mused.

Shirota blushed slightly, his mind imagining it already before he shook his head.

"And we can form a dance troupe and call it BRIGHTS!!" Takuya said, suddenly appearing behind Aiba who blinked at him.

"BRIGHTS?" he asked.

"It sounds cool, doesn't it?" Takuya answered with a smile.

"I guess it does...." Aiba said in agreement.

"Yosha~ then I should introduce you to a friend of mine, Atsushi Koga!"

"Um....why?"

"Because he wants to form a dance troupe too!!"

----------

"Takigawa-senpai!" Kaji called, jogging up to his vice-captain.

"What is it?"

Kaji stopped to catch his breath before he spoke. "Naoya-senpai and his class won against Ara-yan's class."

"And the score?" Shirota prodded, moving up to Takigawa.

Kaji turned to Shirota. "42 to 33," he replied.

Shirota turned to his friend. "You're going to have a tough time in the finals, Eiji-senpai." He patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck!"

It was immediately afterwards did Takuya semi-glomp Shirotan, earning a glare from Aiba. "Shirotan~" Takuya said. "Wanna join the dance troupe we're forming?" he asked.

Shirota faltered forward but balanced himself. "Eh? I don't think I'd make much of a dancer..." he admitted.

----------

"The finals of our Basketball tournament between sections 2-1 and 2-2 will begin in a half-hour to give the teams a chance to get their stamina back."

"Good luck, Takigawa-senpai~" Aiba said with a nod.

Takigawa looked around. "Would you know where Kimeru is?" he asked.

Aiba looked at the bleachers. "He was just there a minute ago..." he said.

"That's strange..." Takigawa said, frowning.

"Maybe he just went to the cafeteria again..." Aiba suggested.

"Well, wherever he went, he should be back soon to catch the final game," Shirota pointed out.

It was at this moment did Araki walk up to the group. "Takigawa-senpai," he greeted, bowing.

"Something wrong?" Takigawa inquired, turning to his kouhai.

Araki shook his head. "I was wondering if you... wanted to know the strategy Gomoto-senpai and his class uses..."

"That would be quite helpful, Araki-kun, but why bother to tell me about it?" Takigawa inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I probably want you to win... I guess..." Araki replied.

----------

Takuya pulled Aiba away for a while. "Aiba-kun! I'm really looking forward to form that dance troupe."

Aiba grinned. "I just want to see Shirota acquire another nosebleed."

----------

After Araki gave a brief explanation of the strategy Gomoto's team used, Takigawa nodded his appreciation before the freshman took his leave after a respectful bow to his senior.

"So have you thought up of a strategy to fight Gomoto-senpai with, Eiji-senpai?" Shirota inquired teasingly.

Takigawa smirked. "I have, actually. But I'll explain that to my teammates a little later."

Aiba looked at himself and sighed. "I'm going to take a shower!" he said before moving towards the main building so he could get the change of clothes that he brought along that day that he left in the room.

Shirota turned when he heard this statement from Aiba. "Be back in time for the game!" he called out.

"Hai hai!!" Aiba called out as he headed out of the court.

Takigawa noticed Aiba's exit before he turned to Shirota. "So how are things going with him so far?" he asked.

Shirota's cheeks heated up. "You want to know the answer to that question _here_?" he inquired in return.

Takigawa chuckled. "I wouldn't have bothered asking otherwise, Shirotan," he teased.

----------

Aiba reached the shower rooms and eagerly took a quick shower.

"Wow....you DO have the body of a dancer!" Takuya suddenly said.

Aiba didn't realize that he was there and jumped in surprise, accidentally letting go of the soap he was holding and stepped on it which caused him to slip and fall.

"Aiba-kun!" Takuya exclaimed as he immediately went towards the boy.

The other boy winced as he gingerly moved his wrist. "I think...I just got a sprain..." he said.

"How?"

"I used my hands to break my fall, baka..." Aiba said with a frown.

----------

"Everything's... I mean... Everything's alright, I guess..." Shirota muttered in slight embarrassment.

Takigawa smirked. "Nothing you should be afraid to tell me about, Shirotan..." the Student Council Vice-President reassured his childhood friend. "After all, we haven't been friends for this long for nothing, you know."

Shirota nodded slowly. "I know..."

----------

The nurse looked at Aiba's wrist and Takuya watched. "Can he still play?" he asked.

"Not any more for today, I'm afraid," The nurse said and Aiba sighed.

----------

Once Shirota had explained all he could manage to Takigawa, the teacher had made an announcement. "We will be beginning the final game of the tournament between section 2-1 and 2-2 in 10 minutes. Please get ready."

"That's my cue," Takigawa said, rising to his feet. "We can talk about this again over the phone if you like, Shirotan."

Shirota nodded. "Good luck, Eiji-senpai."

Takigawa headed to the courts to warm-up with his classmates.

----------

Takuya walked with Aiba and arrived back in the court in time for the announcement.

Shirota looked around before spotting Aiba, waving them over.

Takuya and Aiba approached Shirota. "Sugee~ the game's going to start~" Takuya cheered.

Shirota took a moment to look at Aiba, frowning. "Did something happen earlier?" he inquired, a hint of worry evident in his voice.

"Er..." Aiba started. "Well you see it's like this--"

"IT WAS ALL MY FAULT!! I'M SO SORRY SHIROTA-KUN!!" Takuya shouted latching on to the front of Shirota's shirt.

Shirota turned from Aiba to Takuya, blinking. "Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about?"

Aiba chuckled at the sight. "Well...you see it's like this...I was taking a shower and Takuya came in so suddenly causing me to let go of the soap in surprise and step on it," he explained. "And the fall also gave me a sprain," he said as he help up his right hand. "All an accident."

"Then what is Takuya apologizing for?" Adachi asked as he went over, hearing the scenario.

"I SAW AIBA TAKING A SHOWER!!! I'M SO SORRY SHIROTA-KUN!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!" Takuya wailed which caused Aiba's face to turn scarlet. The outburst also caused a few people to look at the small group's general direction.

Shirota looked around before slapping a hand over Takuya's mouth to silence him, a hint of a blush evident on his cheeks. "Alright, alright, I get it. You're sorry," he said hastily, bowing in apology to the people for the outburst.

----------

Takigawa shook his head in amusement as he heard this. _'Shirotan must be so envious now...'_ he thought happily to himself.

----------

"T-that isn't something you should openly broadcast, Takuya..." Aiba muttered. Adachi stood there stunned as he stared at Takuya.

Kimeru, who did go to the canteen, arrived at the gym and joined them. "What's so new about that? I saw that too, one time back when we were roommates."

Aiba glared at the vocalist. "Kimeru-senpai..." he warned.

Kimeru shrugged. "Why? Want me to broadcast it too?" he slyly said.

As if Shirota's blush couldn't intensify enough, the Student Council Secretary turned to Kimeru, glaring over to him. "Do that and I'll make sure to spill some secrets between you and Eiji-senpai," he warned.

Kimeru grinned. "Really now~" he challenged.

Aiba groaned inwardly.

Gomoto groaned before turning to the group. "Oi! The game's about to start here! Keep it down!" he barked.

Takigawa smirked as he got into position, shaking his head.

Kimeru smirked as he dragged the group towards a spot at the bleachers where they could have a good view of the game.

----------

When things had settled down enough, the final game began the two junior classes to the cheers of the rest of the school. The cheers were, once again, centered on two people: Takigawa Eiji of section 1 and Gomoto Naoya of section 2.

Kimeru was holding that flag of his again while Aiba watched and cheered with the others.

The intense game continued with 3-pointers, finely executed plays and screens before the final whistle blew. With a final score of 47 to 41, Takigawa and class 2-1 was crowned the champions of the basketball tournament. A round of applause broke out among the gymnasium.

"All right Eiji!" Kimeru cheered as he pumped his fist into the air, accidentally knocking Daisuke unconscious.

"Careful, Kimeru," Furukawa lightly warned, kneeling down to attend to the fallen Daisuke.

Kimeru looked and saw what happened. "Uh...oops?"

----------

Shirota was cheering enthusiastically. "Great job, Eiji-senpai!!"

While the rest of the band attended to Daisuke, Shirota ran up to Takigawa, along with Aiba, Takuya, Endo, Yanagi, Araki and Kaji. "Congratulations!" he greeted.

Takigawa nodded as he finished wiping the sweat off his face and strayed from the rest of his class. "Thanks for all the support," he replied with a grateful smile.

Out of the blue, Kimeru hopped on Takigawa's back. "You won~" he cheered happily.

Aiba blinked. "This is something you don't see every day," he said as he took his camera and snapped a picture.

Shirota grinned at the sight. _'Kawaii na...'_ he thought.

Takigawa stumbled forward before finding his balance, looking over his shoulder to Kimeru. "I'm glad you came back in time for the game," he teased.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it for anything~" Kimeru said with a grin, still attached to Takigawa's back.

"Even for free food at an eat-all-you-can restaurant?" Aiba asked.

Kimeru chuckled. "Even if it was my last chance to eat in a restaurant, baka."

Takigawa smiled at the response.

Shirota checked the time. "Then let's go out to eat an early dinner to celebrate your victory!" he recommended.

"At an eat-all-you-can restaurant!!" Aiba and Kimeru cheered.

Aiba immediately clamped a hand over his mouth upon realization of what he had just said.

Kimeru grinned. "I knew you had it in you~" he teased.

"Can we come?" Takuya and Adachi asked.

"I don't see why not," Takigawa admitted. "It'll be my treat."

Shirota's eyes lit up. "HONTOU?!?!?!?!" he asked in astonishment.

Takigawa chuckled. "Of course."

Kimeru smiled widely and latched on even more to Takigawa while Aiba didn't even bother to hold back his smirk.

Takigawa tapped Kimeru on the arm. "Could I go and take a shower first?" he inquired.

"Only if I can join you," Kimeru answered slyly.

A tint of red came across Takigawa's cheeks at the suggestion. "I don't see how I can decline..."

"Clear out the shower rooms~" Nagayan shouted for the whole court to hear.

Shirota grinned. "We'll meet you at the school gates then, Eiji-senpai~" Shirota called before pulling Aiba away.

"I am never....going to look at the shower rooms....the same way....EVER again..." Aiba muttered, allowing himself to be led by Shirota.

Shirota pulled Aiba close, grinning. "Oh, don't worry so much about that, Hiroki~" he chimed.

Aiba sighed. "Oh fine..." he muttered.

Takuya and Adachi threw and arm around one another and grinned.

Takigawa watched as the group left, leaving him with Kimeru still on his back. "I guess we shouldn't make them wait too long..." he muttered before heading off in the direction of the shower rooms.

"Then off to the showers we go~~" Kimeru chimed as he pumped a fist in the air.

----------

Shirota took out his soccer ball from his bag and decided to pass it around with Takuya while they were waiting.

Aiba watched the two from a safe distance and sighed. "At least I got sprained AFTER we needed to play…" he muttered to himself.

Shirota nodded with his eyes on the ball as he passed it to Takuya. "That's true. We wouldn't have done as well as we did if you were injured," Shirota admitted.

Aiba blinked at him. "I wasn't much of a help at all…" he said.

Shirota brought a hand up and wagged his finger. "Never think that way. This Sportsfest is supposed to foster _teamwork_ in the long run, even if a few people stand out," the Student Council Secretary reminded Aiba.

"And you looked great out there!!" Takuya added. "And I have the pictures to prove it!!!"

Shirota nodded. "End of discussion!" he said with finality, flicking up the ball with his foot and kicked it gently in Aiba's direction. "Now come and kick the ball with us."

Aiba sighed before moving towards them.

Takuya moved back. "Over here Aibacchi~" he said while waving his hands.

Aiba blinked before kicking the ball to Takuya who passed it to Shirota. Adachi, who was not joining, secretly snapped some pictures.

A little round of passes was exchanged among the trio before Takigawa and Kimeru joined them, the latter of the two straightening the taller boy's tie.

"Kime, it's fine as it is," Takigawa pressed.

"No it's not!! So stay still!!" Kimeru said crossly as he continued to fuss over the tie.

Aiba grinned and nodded to Adachi who took a picture of this. _'That shot is going to be useful one of these days....'_

Takigawa groaned before stopping, allowing Kimeru to fix the tie.

Shirota took his ball with a flick of his foot, turning his attention to the juniors before chuckling.

When he was satisfied with the tie, Kimeru stepped back and patted Takigawa on the shoulder. "See. All better~" he said with a grin. "Now you look prim and proper," he teased.

"I still don't see the point of this..." Takigawa argued. "Besides, it's just for dinner before we head home..."

"It makes it more fun to take off later," Kimeru said with a wink.

Adachi almost dropped the camera when he heard this and Aiba immediately turned around to hide his blushing face. _'The images...........'_

Shirota cleared his throat out of distraction before moving up to Takigawa and tugging on his arm. "Can we get going?"

Takigawa turned to his friend and chuckled. "Hai, hai. I hope everyone's fine with some American tonight."

"Hai~~~~~~~~" Adachi and Takuya cheered and Aiba nodded.

Takigawa led the group off to a nearby restaurant before they got themselves a table of 6 and sat themselves down. Menus were handed out as they viewed on what to get. "Help yourselves to whatever you like," Takigawa instructed.

Takuya looked at the menu. "Sugee~~~ look at all the food...." he said. Adachi was already consulting his stomach upon what to get.

Aiba looked at the group and smiled. _'It's been a while since I ate with my friends like this....'_

Shirota grinned before ordering a cheeseburger and fries meal.

Kimeru actually ordered two meals and Aiba couldn't help but stare at him as soon as the orders were placed. "What?" the junior asked.

Aiba blinked. "You're eating for two people, Kimeru-senpai?" he asked with a grin.

Takigawa ordered himself a steak before the waiter took the rest of the orders and left.

Shirota chuckled. "Kimeru-senpai must be famished from all his cheering," he teased.

"Cheering takes a lot out of you," Kimeru said with a grin as he rubbed his hands together.

Aiba rolled his eyes. "You'll use any excuse to eat a lot."

"And partly because he won't have to pay for it," Shirota added with a grin.

"Yup--" Kimeru blinked when he realized what he said. "I mean no! Of course not!!"

Aiba burst out laughing as he saw Kimeru's expression. "He got you there, senpai."

Takigawa smiled. "It's fine, Kime," he reassured the vocalist.

Kimeru grinned. "When I get famous I'll treat you all out! That's a promise!" he said to the group.

"We'll hold you to that promise, then," Adachi said with a grin.

Shirota chuckled. "You're pretty confident that you'll become famous someday, aren't you, Kimeru-senpai?"

"Of course I am!" Kimeru said with a grin. "If I won't be confident then I won't be able to reach anything!"

"Then focus on graduating Senior High first," Shirota teased.

"At this rate, Kimeru will probably be promoted a section or two," Takigawa pointed out with a proud grin.

"Who knows, maybe by next year I'll be in section one and I can bother and _distract_ you all year long~" he said with a wink at Takigawa.

Aiba, who was finishing the water in his water bottle choked when he heard this and was now coughing violently.

Shirota, who was conveniently seated beside him, gently patted the boy's back a few times. "Easy there, Aibacchi," he instructed.

Takigawa ignored the wink as a light blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Th-Thanks..." Aiba muttered as soon as he recovered.

Kimeru chuckled. "Maybe that _is_ a good idea~" he thought. "Yosh! My target for the end of this year is to get a high enough mark to get me in section one next year!"

"Good luck with that~" Shirota stated.

Kimeru nodded at him. "Thanks! I'll need a lot of it!"

----------

Pretty soon, their food came before everybody helped themselves to their own meals.

Kimeru grinned as he looked at the food in front of him. "Itadakimasu~"

The group partook of their food quite eagerly. There were a few interruptions, as everyone was focused on their own meals. It didn't take long before the group was done and Takigawa had paid for the table's meal.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED. :D

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	14. Meet the Parents

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 14th chapter entitled **Meet the Parents**. This short chapter narrates the visit of Kimeru's parents to the Takigawa residence, checking up on their son and his new 'boyfriend', scheduled on the evening of the first day of the Sportsfest.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

Everyone eventually went their separate ways on the way home. Takigawa, Shirota, Kimeru and Aiba walked home together up to a certain point, where Shirota insisted on walking Aiba home that evening. Takigawa nodded to the younger couple before heading to his place with Kimeru hand in hand.

When they arrived, Takigawa opened the door and stepped inside and headed to attend to Q and Pearl, immediately getting started on preparing their food.

Kimeru was looking at Q and was about to take him out when the doorbell sounded off. "I'll get it!" he announced before dashing to the door and yanked it open.

Two people smiled at him from the other side which caused the young vocalist to blink and rub his eyes. He looked at the two people again and turned his head to the side. "EIJI! DID YOU FORGET TO TELL ME SOMETHING?"

Takigawa emerged from the kitchen, Pearl and Q's food placed in separate bowls in each hand before he stopped midway and saw the two people outside before bowing to them. "I did not," Takigawa stated. "I informed you that your parents were coming last week over the phone."

_'Either I was bloody drunk then or I was too sleepy to let that information sink in...'_ Kimeru thought bitterly.

"Aren't you going to let us in, son?" The man stated with a wide smile. Kimeru sighed before stepping aside. Ryou patted his son on the head as he entered with his wife. "Takigawa-kun," he started as he smiled at the other youth. "Thanks for letting us come over."

Takigawa took only a moment to set the bowls down for the respective animal before bowing a second time. "Not at all."

Kimeru glared at his father. "A warning would have been nice," he said.

"Now now, dear, if we did that then you would have made an excuse to evade seeing us today," his mother -Shizuka- said.

The vocalist frowned. _'Exactly why I needed the advanced warning.'_

"May I offer making you both some tea?" Takigawa inquired before gesturing to the couches. "And please have a seat."

"Tea sounds good, Takigawa-kun," Ryou said as he and his wife sat on the couch.

Kimeru eyed them for a while before leaning on the wall nearby.

Takigawa nodded. "If you will excuse me for a moment to prepare it, then." He turned on his heel and headed off to the kitchen before adding, "Kime, you should take a seat as well and chat with your parents for the meantime."

Kimeru muttered something before taking a seat near his parents. "So Kime~ anything interesting happen lately?" Ryou asked with a grin.

The younger looked away, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. "No...What makes you think that?" he asked.

"The fact that you're blushing, maybe?" Ryou countered.

Takigawa moved around the kitchen, preparing a tray and a few cups as a kettle sat on the stove above a low flame. _'The only thing missing from this equation is if my parents decide to visit as well...'_ he mused to himself as he leaned back on the counter, waiting. Takigawa shook his head._'No, it's impossible. They're probably enjoying themselves in Spain or something...'_

"So how are you adjusting to living with someone, Kime?" Shizuka asked.

Her son shrugged. "It's fine..." he answered.

After a few more moments of inner debate concerning his own parents, Takigawa took the kettle of hot water off the stover and made the tea before pouring them into the four cups before heading out into the living room, setting the tray down on the coffee table. "Help yourselves," he offered before taking a seat in the nearby armchair.

Kimeru didn't even budge and continued to stare at his parents as they both reached for a cup.

"Thank you, Takigawa-kun..." Ryou said with a smile. "Now then... to business. First, we would like to thank you for taking in our misfit of a son."

"Hey!" Kimeru protested.

"...and managing to get him under control," Ryou finished.

Takigawa smiled and waved a hand in front of him before he reached out for a cup of his own. "It was no problem at all," Takigawa stated.

"I hope it's not a bother to your parents, Takigawa-kun." Shizuka said.

Takigawa shook his head. "They're updated on the situation, and they don't mind it at all," he reassured her.

"I hope to meet your parents when we get the chance, Takigawa-kun," Ryou said with a smile.

Shizuka nodded in agreement. "It would be nice to get together someday."

"I'm sure you'll meet them... eventually," Takigawa said slowly.

The three engaged in light conversation, and a few minutes later Kimeru excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Ryou followed his son with his eyes and when he was satisfied that Kimeru was gone he looked at Takigawa with a serious expression."Takigawa-kun, what kind of relationship do you have with my son?" he asked.

"A fairly close one, sir," Takigawa replied. "I'm in love with him," he added.

Ryou nodded in satisfaction. "Good good..." he said with a smile.

"I'm glad…" Shizuka added. "Though if I remember correctly, Kime didn't really like you in the past."

"Circumstances change, I suppose," Takigawa offered.

"What circumstances?" Kimeru asked as he rejoined the group.

"Of your wedding," Ryou said with a smile.

"WHAT?" Kimeru exclaimed, a furious blush on his cheeks.

Takigawa held back a chuckle.

Kimeru stood there staring at them like a fish out of water.

Shizuka smiled. "Relax Kime, your father was just teasing," he said.

"Who said I was?" Ryou teased.

Takigawa got up and moved to Kimeru, directing him to the armchair and sat him down. "Come on, snap out of it," Takigawa coaxed.

Kimeru shook his head and mentally slapped himself. "Sorry about that..." he muttered in embarrassment.

Takigawa smiled softly. "It's no problem," he stated before moving to occupy the second armchair.

Shizuka smiled when she saw this. _'It looks like he's in good hands,'_ she thought happily.

Ryou observed them for a while before nodding. "I heard that your grades are getting better, am I right in assuming that this is all thanks to Takigawa-kun as well?"

Kimeru nodded. "He's the one tutoring me."

"But I can only do so much," Takigawa countered. "Kimeru just has a lot of untapped potential when it comes to academics," he explained.

"That's not true!" Kimeru argued and the debate started.

Kimeru's parents watched the two of them in amusement.

Takigawa turned to Kimeru. "You're the one doing all the work. I'm just a guiding hand."

"Guiding hand my foot..." Kimeru said. "If you didn't tutor me I'd be failing all my subjects like last year!"

Takigawa brought a finger up. "Fine, then. If you don't want me using the term 'guiding hand', I'll use the term 'overseer of your academic progress.' How does that sound?"

Kimeru shook is head. "Try all mighty tutor," he said with a sly grin.

"Anything but that," Takigawa pressed.

Kimeru thought for a minute. "Life saver?" he tried.

Takigawa shrugged. "Oh, whatever you like," he said, bringing both hands up in surrender.

Kimeru chuckled. "Then all mighty tutor it is~" he said in triumph.

Takigawa shrugged before resorting to finish his tea.

Ryou cleared his throat to catch their attention. "Are you two done?" he asked slyly.

Takigawa simply nodded, setting his cup back down on the tray.

"We'd love to stay, but I'm afraid we have to take care of something for tomorrow," Shizuka said. "We will keep in touch with the both of you."

Ryou nodded before standing up, his wife doing the same. "We will leave our son to you, anything happens, you know how to reach us."

Takigawa stood as well, bowing. "Hai. You'll be the first to know," he informed them as he straightened up and moved to the door to open it for them.

"Do try and contact us once in a while Kime," Shizuka said and Kimeru nodded.

"I will..." he promised.

With another bow, the two headed off.

As the door closed Kimeru glared at Takigawa. "And you didn't remind me that they were coming, why?" he asked.

Takigawa moved to clean up the tray and bring it back into the kitchen. "Because I was under the assumption that you were aware of the fact already," he replied.

Kimeru frowned. "If I was then I would have made an excuse not to be here..." he muttered.

Takigawa smiled before moving into the kitchen. "My apologies, then."

Kimeru sighed and waved a hand. "It's fine. What's done is done." he said. "Besides...I was interested to find out how they would react to you anyway."

Takigawa set the tray down by the sink and emerged from the kitchen, leaning on the doorway. "Then you should look forward to meeting _my_ parents... Whenever they decide to visit."

Kimeru blinked. "Your parents?" he repeated in slight surprise. "...just warn me ahead of time so that I can make myself presentable at the very least."

Takigawa shrugged. "I'd be surprised myself if I can manage that," he stated truthfully.

Kimeru blinked. "And why is that?" he inquired.

"They... enjoy surprise visits," Takigawa stated.

Kimeru frowned. "That's reassuring," he muttered sarcastically. "I guess this just means that I should make myself presentable at all times…"

Takigawa beamed, nodding. "Aa."

Kimeru looked down at his clothes and frowned. "I need a change of wardrobe..." he muttered.

Takigawa gestured to the stairs. "By all means, then," he offered.

Kimeru chuckled and shook his head. "I meant entire wardrobe and not just what I'm wearing now," he explained as he walked over to Takigawa. "I want something more...daring..." he said with a sly grin.

Takigawa took a tentative step back. "Daring?" he repeated.

Kimeru nodded and took a step forward as he placed a finger on Takigawa's cheek and used it to trace a path to the man's chest. "Yeah...daring..." he repeated with a smirk. "Something like...oh I don't know...absolutely nothing, perhaps?"

Takigawa felt his cheeks heat up, backing up before falling back onto the couch. "Uh... right..." he muttered, averting his gaze.

Kimeru smirked in victory before placing his hands on either side of Takigawa, just above the shoulders. "I think someone here needs a little prize for playing well earlier, don't you think?" he asked teasingly.

The blush on Takigawa's cheeks intensified before he said, "It's your call..."

"Then allow me to congratulate you properly for a job well done," Kimeru said before leaning down to kiss Takigawa on the lips.

Takigawa slowly closed his eyes, responding to the kiss before subconsciously wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist.

Kimeru pulled back and rested his forehead against Takgawa's. "I'd love to give you more but unfortunately we still have something to attend to tomorrow," he said before standing back up.

Takigawa nodded. "We do... We'll be dealing with Shirotan's sport this time around..." he stated before he moved to get up as well before he was wrestled back onto the couch by the Yorkshire who had surprised him, licking him affectionately.

"Someone's been jealous~" Kimeru teased as he watched the scene.

Takigawa chuckled as he pulled Pearl at arm's length. "Yes, it seems so," he noted, sitting back up. "Don't worry, Pearl. You won't be ignored."

Kimeru chuckled before glancing at the clock. "I'll just be upstairs so that you two can have your quality time."

Takigawa nodded gratefully to Kimeru before he attended to Pearl, who was waiting eagerly for the attention.

Once upstairs, Kimeru took out the guitar that was lent to him by Furukawa that he always placed in the other boy's room. He strummed it and got to work, trying to finish the song he was writing.

In the Shirota residence, Yuu had locked his bedroom door to avoid his brother Jun's distractions as he set up the possible formations his class could use for tomorrow's games.

Aiba was studying the pictures that were taken during that day and grinned as he looked at a certain picture. After a quick debate with himself he clicked on the picture and turned it into his desktop wallpaper.

Shirota sat back and stretched his arms. "Yosh! Finally done!" he exclaimed to himself, setting his pencil down and rose to his feet. "Now we should get a good night's rest for tomorrow~" he said, turning off the table lamp and crossing the room to his bed before settling into it.

Takigawa, after playing with Pearl enough, sent the Yorkshire to bed as he moved to head upstairs as well.

Kimeru, for one reason or another, was already asleep on the futon that he usually occupied.

Takigawa smiled at the sight, fixing the blanket over the sleeping boy, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on the forehead before moving to get ready for bed as well.

Kimeru rolled over and managed to grab Takigawa by the leg, muttering something in his sleep.

Takigawa stumbled, falling to his knees as he looked over his shoulder to Kimeru, furrowing his brow. He shook his head. _'Honestly...'_

Kimeru muttered something again before reaching up and grabbing Takigawa by the shirt before pulling him down.

"Ki-" Takigawa was cut short when he was pulled down, a furious blush on his cheeks now.

Satisfied with the warm body that was now beside him, Kimeru stopped muttering things and snuggled up to Takigawa.

Takigawa sighed, smiling softly before deciding not to protest anymore and settled in to sleep as well.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED. :D

We look forward to your reviews and possible suggestions. :)


	15. Soccer and Yakiniku Dinner

**Title:** Mitsukaru High

**Author/Artist:** snooperj & Bloodysamurai

**Series/Pairing(s):** TeniMyu; Mainly Takigawa Eiji x Kimeru & Shirota Yuu x Aiba Hiroki

**Notes:** An alternative universe type of fanfiction, my partner and I take you to how the two couples began during their days in Senior High, with Takigawa and Kimeru in their 2nd year, and Shirota and Aiba in their 1st. This fanfiction will run from that setting until Shirota and Aiba's graduation from Senior High two years later. Most of the information here are either altered, made-up or real altogether. Hints of other pairings shall also be introduced, therefore expect to be seeing other members of the TeniMyu cast to show up in this Mitsukaru Senior High setting. This is meant to serve as a prequel to our fanfiction **'Anything for You'**.

Here is the 15th chapter entitled **Soccer and Yakiniku Dinner**. This chapter details the second day of the school's Sportsfest: the Soccer tournament. Quite a few couples are highlighted here, and eyes on Shirota and Wada's classes as the favorites to compete in the final match. With Aiba's sprain, he does his best to cheer as hard as he could for Shirota while documenting the event for the school paper.

**ALSO! None of the authors of this roleplay/fanfic own TeniMyu or the actors, but are mere fangirls of the musical series and corresponding actors we write about. Everything that progresses in the story is the creation of our witty imaginations.

* * *

The next morning, Aiba raced towards the bus stop, his camera hanging from his neck as he attempted to eat the bread he grabbed from the table. _'This is what I get for staring at Yuu for the whole evening...'_ he thought darkly.

-HR-

Shirota was walking to school, his gym bag in hand as he started stretching during his walk. "I'm looking forward to the games later~" he chirped enthusiastically.

-HR-

Aiba hastily ran down from the bus and went straight to the School Paper's office as soon as he entered Mitsukaru's premises. Catching his breath for a few minutes, he opened the door.

"You're late, Aiba-kun..." came the calm voice of Yagami that sent a shiver down the first year's spine.

"G-Gomen nasai, Yagami-senpai..."

-HR-

Shirota blinked as he saw someone running past him into the school. He tilted his head. "Aibacchi?" Shrugging, he moved to the soccer fields where the second day of the Sportsfest was to be held.

-HR-

After a few minutes, Aiba stepped out of the office and sighed heavily. "This is all your fault, Shirota Yuu..." he muttered to himself.

-HR-

Takigawa, who had disentangled himself from Kimeru, had woken up to prepare some light breakfast that they could take with them to school. When he was done packing everything in different tupperwares, he returned to the room to wake up Kimeru.

Kimeru rolled to his side and continued to sleep, grabbing hold of a pillow that was in Takigawa's place.

Takigawa shrugged, bending over to nudge Kimeru awake. "Kime, it's time to get up," he prodded.

"Not until I get that piece of sushi..." Kimeru muttered, still three fourths asleep.

"You won't if you don't get up now," Takigawa threatened lightly.

"Wherezzit?" Kimeru asked sleepily as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Downstairs. Now get ready for school," Takigawa instructed.

"Hai..." Kimeru answered before yawning and getting up.

Takigawa smiled, straightening up and leaving the room to head back downstairs.

Kimeru headed to the bathroom to attempt to get himself to fully wake up.

-HR-

Aiba trudged over to the fields, expecting to see Shirota there.

Shirota was doing some last-minute stretching before looking over his shoulder to spot Aiba, waving him over.

Aiba quickly looked around and smirked in satisfaction once he saw that no one was around. "You...are in big trouble," he said as he grabbed Shirota by the collar and kissed him.

Shirota frowned. "What fo-"

Aiba pulled away and smiled brightly. "I feel much better now," he said happily.

"...for..." Shirota finished, blinking to Aiba, clueless of why it happened, a slight blush on his cheeks.

Aiba chuckled. "Still able to finish your sentence? That means that wasn't as effective as I wanted it to be," he teased lightly.

Shirota's blush intensified but said nothing in retort.

Aiba looked at Shirota, grin still in place. "So...what were you doing before I rudely interrupted your alone time?" he asked.

Shirota cleared his throat. "Stretching."

"And are you done stretching?" Aiba asked slyly as he took a step back and surveyed their surroundings.

Shirota nodded. "Aa..."

"Then you won't mind me dragging you off somewhere since it's still a bit early?" Aiba asked with a wide smile.

Shirota shook his head. "I don't think so..." he admitted.

"Good~" Aiba said as he dragged Shirota to the nearest empty classroom and locked the door.

"E-Eh?" Shirota managed to say before he was dragged off.

-HR-

In another side of the school, Daisuke walked with Furukawa, still sporting a black-eye from the day before. "Kimeru doesn't know his own strength," he muttered.

Furukawa chuckled. "But it's nice to see him excited in a different way, don't you agree?"

Daisuke frowned. "Yeah...just because of that Takigawa person..." he muttered.

Furukawa's smile faded slightly. "Are you going to be going on and on about this until we graduate, Daisuke?"

"Until the day I die..." Daisuke vowed. "He changed Kime..."

Furukawa's smile returned. "And now why is that such a bad thing?"

Daisuke frowned and faced his friend. "What's wrong with it? I'll tell you what wrong with it! He's taking Kimeru from his real friends and is turning him into some goody-goody person that's just...argh!"

Furukawa shrugged and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "_Real_ friends, Daisuke?" he repeated.

"Yes Yuuta, REAL friends!" Daisuke repeated with a slight glare.

"Sooner or later you're going to have to realize that a person doesn't have to be restricted to a single set of friends, Daisuke..." Furukawa explained.

Daisuke muttered something incoherent before walking on.

Furukawa smiled triumphantly before silently following Daisuke.

-HR-

Takigawa busied himself feeding the household pets while waiting for Kimeru.

Once Kimeru was downstairs, he looked around. "Eiji! I can't find my wristband!" he said.

"It's probably still in the laundry room," Takigawa called as he placed Q back in his cage.

Kimeru sighed. "Well...might as well go without it," he said. "Are you going to play today?" he asked.

Takigawa nodded as he moved to the shoe rack and pulled out his soccer shoes. "I've been asked to play in all three sports," he explained as he started putting them on.

"Then it looks like we'll be seeing each other on the field~" Kimeru said with a grin.

"That depends if our sections will be put up against one another," Takigawa countered.

"I'm thinking positive!" Kimeru said with a frown. "Nothing wrong with that."

Takigawa smiled, got to his feet and approached Kimeru, kissing him on the forehead. "I know, I know."

Kimeru grinned. "I pity the class that will first go against another class with varsity people in it..." he said.

Takigawa nodded in agreement as he moved to the door and pulled it open. "That's true. Shall we get going? I'd personally like to know who's up against whom."

Kimeru nodded as he adjusted his hold on his bag. "I'm ready to go," he said.

Takigawa moved to take his own bag before gesturing for Kimeru to go first. "After you," he teased.

Kimeru rolled his eyes and walked out of the house.

Takigawa followed after Kimeru after locking the main door behind him, adjusting his hold on his bag. "I have a good feeling Shirotan's class will be in the finals hands down," he said conversationally.

"I'm not surprised," Kimeru said as he grinned.

"It would be interesting to see how you would fare against him, though," Takigawa admitted.

"Ch, I'm not stupid enough to go against a varsity...I hate sports remember?" Kimeru informed him.

Takigawa lounged an arm on Kimeru's shoulders. "You were stupid enough to go against _me_ weren't you?" he teased lightly.

"Mainly because it was you, Takigawa Eiji..." Kimeru shot back, smirking.

Takigawa rolled his eyes. "Just so you could prove my sprain..." he muttered, shaking his head in disapproval.

Kimeru shrugged and winked at him. "That and I wanted to see you move on the courts~"

"Not that you could have seen much when I was injured..." Takigawa muttered.

Kimeru smirked mischievously. "Believe me Eiji, it's not only your abilities that I'm after."

Takigawa straightened up, twitching an eyebrow. "If you say so..."

Kimeru hummed to himself the rest of the way to Mitsukaru.

The soccer fields were slowly filling up with people as more students arrived.

Zukki took a good look around. "I wonder where Shirota is..." he muttered to himself.

-HR-

"Matte! I need to go to the-" Adachi was cut off, resulting in Nakagauchi looking at him strangely as the other opened the door to a classroom.

"What's wrong, Adachi?" The older asked.

Adachi shook his head and hurriedly closed the door, his face red. "N-Nothing..." he muttered.

-HR-

Aiba pulled away from Shirota and blinked. "Did you...hear something?" he asked.

Shirota shook his head feebly. "No, I didn't..."

Aiba shrugged before smirking. "So where were we?" he asked slyly.

Shirota averted his gaze. "Getting ready to head back out?" he suggested hopefully.

Aiba looked at him. "What time is-" his gaze stopped at the wall-clock nearby. "WHAT?" he exclaimed before completely pulling away and attempted to fix his clothes. "Yagami-senpai is going to kill me..." he groaned.

Shirota pushed himself up, wincing slightly before he moved to fix his hair.

-HR-

When Takigawa and Kimeru arrived at the soccer fields, the former took a good look around, furrowing his brows. "Now where is-"

"Takigawa-senpai!" Zukki called, jogging up to the upperclassman. "Have you seen Shirota-kun anywhere?" he inquired.

Takigawa shook his head. "I'm pretty sure he came here pretty early to get some practice in before the games..."

Kimeru blinked. "Maybe he was dragged off somewhere?" he asked.

Takigawa nodded. "That's possible..."

-HR-

Shirota, after fixing himself, moved to the door and turned to Aiba. "We should get going..."

Aiba, who was already done fixing his uniform, nodded. "Let's go before they find out that I dragged you to an empty classroom."

Shirota slid the door open and headed off to the soccer fields.

-HR-

Takuya squinted his eyes, having been tasked to look out for Shirota. "There he is!" he exclaimed, moving over to Zukki to inform him.

Shirota jogged up to him, bowing slightly. "Gomen, I had to take care of something," he said in apology.

Takigawa raised an eyebrow. "So _were_ you here early, Shirotan?" he asked.

Shirota turned to the upperclassman and gave a forced smile, nodding. "I was."

Aiba followed him and smiled at the group. "Ohayou~" he greeted brightly, causing Kimeru to raise an eyebrow.

Shirota brought a hand up and jerked his thumb over to the board. "The match-ups are posted over there. Would you like to come and take a look at them?" he offered.

"Go on ahead I need to meet up with the journ team for a bit. I'll catch up~" Aiba said before kissing Shirota on the cheek and dashing off.

"So...anything interesting happen?" Kimeru asked the first year that was left behind.

-HR-

As Aiba was running down the hall, he accidentally bumped into a junior. "Ah! Gomen I wasn't looking where I was going!" he apologized.

"Oh it's nothing...hey...you're that freshman that's always with Shirota Yuu…"

Aiba looked up and immediately recognized the junior. "Mikoto-senpai!"

Mikoto smiled and nodded at him. "E-to...would you know where Takigawa is?" he asked and Aiba nodded, telling him where the other is before excusing himself to head to the journ room.

After getting reprimanded yet again, Aiba rushed to join the group in the fields.

-HR-

Shirota acquired a small blush at the question and diverted his attention. "What makes you think that?"

"Well...your hair is messed up for starters…" Kimeru said slyly.

Shirota blinked before bringing a hand up to his hair and fixed it. "I was in a rush this morning," he explained.

Takigawa smiled before he placed an arm over Shirota's shoulders. "Let's go see the brackets, then."

The group moved up to the board as Takigawa browsed it with enthusiasm. "Well isn't this interesting... Our first match is against 3-1..." he noted.

"Ours is against 3-5," Shirota added.

"We're going against third years?" Aiba exclaimed. "I pity our players."

"Don't worry so much about it," Shirota reassured with a grin. "We'll be fine."

Aiba nodded and configured his camera settings for a while.

"Will sections 2-5 and 1-2 proceed to Field A, and sections 2-1 and 3-1 to Field B," a teacher announced with a megaphone. "We will begin today's Soccer tournament in 20 minutes."

Shirota turned to Takigawa and patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck, Eiji-senpai~"

Takigawa nodded in response.

"And since we don't have a game, we can watch!" Aiba said with a grin as he looked at Shirota. "A-re? Where's Kimeru-senpai?"

Shirota looked around as well. "It _is_ Eiji-senpai's class that will be playing one of the first games..."

Takuya chuckled, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "He went off to join the rest of the School Band," he explained.

Takigawa excused himself from the group and went to their assigned field to meet up with his classmates there.

Aiba shrugged. "That figures..." he said. "Let's go and watch then!" he said as he dragged Shirota off to the audience area.

"O-" Shirota was cut off from agreeing as was dragged off by Aiba.

-HR-

Takigawa did some light stretching before surveying the audience.

Tuti patted him on the shoulder. "Shall we give it our best, Takigawa-kun?" he inquired.

Takigawa nodded. "As we should."

-HR-

As soon as Aiba and the rest reached the audience area, Kimeru and the band started cheering.

It didn't take long before the kick-offs began both games simultaneously. Shirota watched Takigawa's game particularly, though he took some time shifting his attention to the other pitch to weigh out the competition and mentally make any preparations.

"Eiji-senpai's really getting into his game," Shirota noted at one point as Takigawa assisted in setting up a goal.

Aiba nodded. "Yes. They're doing well even if the other team is playing rough..." he commented as he snapped a picture.

Shirota watched the games progressed. Cheers were monstrous as the game between 2-5 and 1-2 ended with a score of 0-1 in favor of 1-2, and the game between 2-1 and 3-1 ended with a score of 1-2 in favor of 3-1.

Takigawa moved over to Furukawa and patted him on the shoulder. "So in the end there was nothing to get worried about with you," he teased.

"Will sections 1-3 and 2-4 start warming up in Field A, and sections 1-1 and 3-5 in Field B!" came the announcement.

"That's your cue, Yuu…" Aiba said with a smile. "You too, Takuya."

Takuya nodded. "Yosh~ I'll show you what I can do in a game~" he said cheerfully.

Shirota grinned and went off with Takuya to Field B where they met up with a few of their other classmates to get themselves ready.

"This is your time to show Wada-buchou just how well you play, Takuya," Shirota pointed out with a grin.

Takuya nodded. "I'll do that and help our team win while I'm at it~" he said positively.

Shirota brought a thumbs-up. "Let's do that," he exclaimed before turning to the rest of their classmates and going through strategy with them.

-HR-

Aiba smiled as he took some pre-game pictures while Kimeru was looking around for a certain someone.

Takigawa, after their class' game, headed off to find an empty spot at the stands to watch Shirota's game while looking for Kimeru at the same time. _'Though I wonder where he went to after waving that flag around... again...'_ he thought to himself.

"Eiji~" Kimeru chimed as he appeared behind Takigawa and shoved a brown bag in his hands, "I came with offerings of food." he said with a wink.

Takigawa, disoriented for a second, blinked at the brown bag shoved into his hands. "Food?" he repeated, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"If you don't want it, I'll eat it all~" Kimeru warned before munching on a piece of bread that he bought from the food booths that were around the campus.

Takigawa chuckled. "I was just surprised, that's all," he defended. "We could share while we watch Shirotan's game," he offered.

Kimeru grinned. "Then let's do that..." he said.

Takigawa led the way to some empty seats at the bleachers before sitting down in perfect view of Shirota's game that had already started.

Kimeru grinned. "You think we should hand Aiba that banner we made for Shirota?" he asked casually.

Takigawa chuckled. "He wouldn't be able to take pictures of the game because of that, though," he debated, pulling a random food item from the bag.

Kimeru looked at Aiba before nodding. "You're right...so we'll just give it to some of Shirota's fans!" he said merrily before signaling to Daisuke who casually handed the flag to the said fans who went wild with it.

Whether it was because of the flag or something else, Shirota and the rest of 1-1 made a clean sweep of the game, ending it with a score of 3 to 0, shaming the third year section. The other game between 1-3 and 2-4 ended in a tie, leading up to a PK match. 1-3 scraped victory with a score of 3 to 1.

"I'm surprised Kenken found it difficult to lead his class to score a goal," Shirota said in concern, having found time to watch the PK match.

"It's expected. He's the only varsity player there," Zukki supplied.

"Will the teams of sections 2-3 and 3-4 please proceed to Field A, while those of sections 1-4 and 2-2 to Field B. We will begin the next two games in 10 minutes," one of the teachers announced.

Aiba glared at Shirota's fans that were squealing or screaming in delight once the game was over.

-HR-

"I think it was a bad idea giving them the flag..." Daisuke told his friends when he saw the reaction of the freshman.

Takigawa turned to Daisuke and smirked. "Well, we can't really help it. After all, Shirota didn't place second in that popularity poll for nothing."

Daisuke frowned. "And who said I was talking to you?" he muttered before turning to talk to Furukawa.

Nagayan sweatdropped. "Er...Don't mind him," he said.

"What I said was true anyway," Takigawa said lightly before turning to Kimeru. "So you should get going to warm up, right?" he said slyly.

Kimeru blinked before shoving the rest of the bread in his mouth. After a quick nod, he headed straight to his section.

"Good luck~" Takigawa called as he slipped a hand into the bag and pulled out another food item to munch on.

-HR-

Aiba approached Shirota and handed him a bottle of water. "Nice game," he said as he tried to smile, all the while eying the ones that held Shirota's flag.

Shirota turned to Aiba, taking the bottle gratefully and opened it, taking a long drink from it. "Sankyu, Hiroki," he said with a grin.

Aiba smiled. "Did you see that?" he asked before pointing at the flag that was still being waved.

Shirota turned his attention momentarily to the flag before nodding. "Aa. Looks like Kimeru-senpai's handiwork," he replied. "I was under the impression that you would've been the one waving it around."

Aiba pouted. "I would have been," he said. "If it was handed to me first and I didn't have a sprain," he said before glaring at the group again, who, this time around, finally noticed the evil aura that he was emitting.

Shirota scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, don't pay too much attention to it, Hiroki," he chided. "It's better if you recovered quickly from that sprain so I don't have to worry about you too much."

Aiba nodded. "I'll do my best to recover faster then…" he said with a smile as the fanboys retreated.

Shirota grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "That's the spirit~"

"Shirota-kun! Aiba-kun!" Takuya called out before glomping the two.

"You did an excellent job on the field just now, Takuya!" Shirota praised with a wide grin and a thumbs up. "I'm sure Wada-buchou will put you on the varsity team for sure once the sports fest is done and over with!"

Takuya's eyes sparkled. "You really think so?" he said with a wide smile.

Aiba nodded. "I agree with him, Takuya."

"I'll vouch for you myself if I have to, Takuya," Shirota said with a grin, bringing an arm around the boy's neck. "You're much too valuable an asset _not_ to be part of our school soccer team!"

"Thank you, Shirota-kun!" Takuya said happily as he started bouncing around.

Aiba chuckled. "I'll look forward covering that story for the paper."

Shirota stood back beside Aiba as he watched Takuya let out his excitement, chuckling to himself. "I'm sure you'd enjoy doing a story for that indeed."

"The games are starting again!" Shirota said as soon as he turned his attention to the field. "Kujirai-senpai and Irei-senpai are playing with their section," he pointed out to the second game between 1-4 and 2-2.

Takigawa called out to Shirota. "Oi, I have some seats here for you guys!"

Shirota grinned and pulled the two towards the junior. "Sankyu, Eiji-senpai," he thanked, taking his seat. "Cheering for Kimeru-senpai, I assume?" he added with a grin.

Takigawa hit the boy playfully on the head. "That doesn't need to be asked."

Once in the seats, Aiba took out his camera. "Where's Kimeru-senpai?" he asked as he looked at the players. "He's not benched, isn't he?"

Takigawa pointed to the familiar boy in the field. "He's taken the left wing," the junior instructed to Aiba.

Shirota grinned. "Whoever wins in their game are our next opponents, Takuya," he stated. "Better watch the game and start formulating some plans!"

"Really? Wow, they're both great with team work~" Takuya said as he watched the game.

-HR-

The second game finished earlier with 2-2 sealing the game against 1-4 with a score of 2-0. The first game between 2-3 and 3-4 had ended with a tied score of 1 all. It went into a PK match that 2-3 had eventually won 5-4.

"So Kimeru-senpai's class will be our next opponent..." Shirota said, stroking his chin, his brain quickly processing possible plays.

"Teams of sections 3-3 and 1-5 please proceed to Field A while sections 3-2 and 1-2 please proceed to Field B!" a teacher announced.

"Isn't that Kazuki-kun's section?" Takuya said with a wide smile.

Aiba chuckled. "I'm not sure, we'll see…"

Shirota nodded. "Kazuki-kun's in the same section as Kentarou-kun... But with their opponents being Wada-buchou's class... It'll be an interesting match to watch," the Student Council Secretary concluded.

Takuya suddenly jumped up, holding a huge banner with Kazuki's name written on it. "KAAAAZUUUUUKIIIII-KUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN~~" he cheered.

Aiba smirked and took a picture of it. "This one is for the highlights section."

Kazuki heard this from the field and turned to the banner before bringing a hand to his face. "I'm embarrassed..." he muttered.

Kentarou patted him on the shoulder. "Don't think too much about it," he reassured his classmate.

-HR-

Kimeru chuckled as he joined them. "Hello there~" he chimed.

"That was a well-played game, Kime," Takigawa congratulated, patting the empty space on the bench beside him.

Kimeru sat down beside him with a smile. "Thanks!" he said happily.

"Look at the camera~" Aiba said suddenly as he turned around to snap a picture of them.

Shirota grinned as he turned over to the pair. "So we're facing each other in the next match, Kimeru-senpai," the boy said. "You better be prepared."

Kimeru smirked at him. "I'll be ready Shirotan~" he said with a thumbs up.

Takigawa chuckled. "I'll wish you luck against the soccer team's rising star, Kime," the Student Council Vice-President admitted, patting Kimeru on the shoulder. "You'll need it."

"Who said that I'll be the one going against him, anyway?" Kimeru said smugly.

"Based on the way you were playing earlier," Shirota implied with a huge grin.

Takigawa shook his head, stifling his amusement. "I still wish you luck."

Kimeru gave them a thumbs up sign before looking at the field. "Looks like the banner has an effect on that Kato Kid."

Shirota chuckled, leaning back. "It better. It should teach Kazuki-kun not to pay much attention to the crowd too much once the game starts. Hopefully Kentarou-kun will tell him that."

"Does that mean he won't be looking at my banner?" Takuya asked in alarm as he faced Shirota.

"He will occasionally, don't worry," Shirota reassured the boy. "It's just that he better learn not to let it distract him too much."

Takuya significantly brightened when he heard this. "GO KAZUKI-KUN!" he cheered as he turned his attention back to the game.

"That banner reminds me..." Aiba suddenly started. "That I should hunt down the one the others were holding earlier."

Shirota looked over to Aiba and rubbed the back of his head. "You aren't thinking of holding that up for the next game, are you?" he asked cautiously.

Aiba grinned. "What do you think Shirota Yuu?"

Shirota's cheeks blushed slightly and turned away. "Don't strain yourself..." he said quietly as the games began.

Aiba smiled. "I have another hand that is functioning very well, thank you~ And I'm sure Takigawa-senpai and Takuya would help me."

Takuya nodded in agreement.

"You wouldn't be able to take pictures," Shirota argued with a look of dismay.

"I don't have any more games so I'll be here to help him out with that time to time," Takigawa offered.

"And Takuya's playing with me so he won't be able to help you," Shirota added.

Aiba blinked before looking at Takigawa. "I shall trust senpai's photography skills, then."

Furukawa leaned towards the group having overheard their conversation. "Takigawa-kun takes more than satisfactory pictures, Aiba-kun," he offered with a smile. "One of the major projects in class last year should tell you that."

Shirota chuckled. "Yes, that's true."

Aiba jumped in surprise when he heard Furukawa. "Really, senpai?" he asked.

Furukawa smiled and nudged Takigawa. "Go on, tell him."

Takigawa found his balance and cleared his throat, nodding to Aiba in confirmation.

"Really? That's sounds amazing! Is it displayed somewhere?" the freshman asked in excitement.

"You're going to have to ask Ueshima-sensei," Furukawa continued. "We had to do a report for his class that time."

Shirota chuckled. "Ueshima-sensei is quite the iconic teacher in Mitsukaru, wouldn't you agree?" he told the others with a sheepish grin.

Aiba nodded. "I'll ask him after the games for today~" he said happily.

"And I'm going with you~" Kimeru said with a grin.

Takigawa slapped his palm to his forehead. "Ueshima-sensei..." he muttered to himself.

"I'll be coming along as well!" Shirota chimed in with a huge grin.

"Then shall we all see it after the games?" Aiba asked.

"By the way, Furukawa-senpai...is Watanabe-senpai going to play?"

Furukawa looked over to Daisuke. "Not today. He would've gone off with Kimeru-kun already if he was playing at all in today's games," he replied.

Daisuke, who noticed Furukawa look at him, waved at the group.

Furukawa chuckled and waved back.

-HR-

The two games ended fair enough. 3-3 managed to win over 1-5 with a score of 1 to 0, while 3-2, led by Wada, tied with 1-2 with a score of 3 all and led into a PK match. 3-2 scraped victory with a score of 4 to 3.

"So Kentarou-kun wasn't able to do much against Wada-buchou in the end..." Shirota said with a frown. "That means they'll be in the finals of this for sure."

"Teams of sections 3-1 and 1-3 kindly proceed to Field A, and those of sections 1-1 and 2-3 to Field B, please," a teacher announced.

Takigawa looked between Shirota and Kimeru. "Good luck, you two," he said cheerfully with a grin.

Kimeru grinned. "I'll need all that I can get~" he said.

"And I shall be living this with you, Takigawa-senpai," Aiba said as he handed the camera to Takigawa.

Shirota pulled Takuya with him, waving to the group as they headed to the field. "See you after the game!"

Takigawa nodded, taking the camera gingerly and examined it for a few minutes and smiled.

Aiba waved back at Shirota before starting his hunt for the banner that was being raised a few minutes ago.

"We're in trouble," Nagayan said as he watched Aiba.

-HR-

Takigawa, after adjusting the settings slightly to his taste, looked over to find Aiba looking for the flag. Spotting Tuti with Nagayan, he called out to him. "Tuti!"

Tuti looked over to Takigawa. "What is it?"

"Can you help Aiba-kun with looking for that flag?"

Tuti looked over in Aiba's direction before grinning, nodding. "Sure."

A few moments later Aiba spotted the flag being held by some upperclassmen. "Now how am I supposed to get that?" he muttered darkly.

Tuti headed down and walked up to Aiba, setting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Need help with anything?" he inquired with a bright smile.

Aiba looked at Tuti with a child-like pout before pointing at the banner which was in the possession of some seniors.

Tuti looked over to Aiba and held back a chuckle, nodding in understanding before approaching the seniors to try and retrieve the flag for the freshman. Minutes later, Tuti returned and held out the flag to Aiba. "Here you go."

Aiba grinned widely as he took the flag. "Thanks, Tsuchiya-senpai!" he said with a bow. "Now I can properly cheer Yuu on."

Nagayan, who saw everything, went up to Tuti. "How'd you do that?" he asked.

Tuti waved over to Aiba as he headed over and turned his attention to Nagayan, smirking. "A little reasoning goes a long way, Nagayan," he supplied. "I told them that if they didn't hand the flag over to Aiba-kun, it would be like insulting Shirota-kun, who silently considers Aiba-kun his boyfriend."

Nagayan blinked, "Silently?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't call it silently."

Tuti chuckled. "However you want to consider it, then," he said, walking past the boy and pulling him along. "Now come on. The games are starting soon."

Nagayan grinned and nodded before allowing himself to be dragged away, waving at his fellow band-mates as they passed them.

-HR-

The two games began and much cheering resounded all around the two pitches. In Field A, some notable players from both classes - Kenken from 1-3 and Moriyama - although not a varsity player - from 3-1 took the spotlight once in a while in trying to score some goals. Field B was where the action was most compelling. Shirota became the center of attacks for their class, Takuya adding the extra leverage needed to bring the ball along.

In the end, both games finally ended with the blow of the final whistle. 3-1 had managed to win against 1-3 with a score of 2-1, while 1-1 dominated the game and scored 4 goals to nil against 2-3.

"Alright Yuu~" Aiba cheered as he waved the flag around.

-HR-

"See. I told you it's anything but subtle," Nagayan pointed out to Tuti.

Tuti chuckled. "Point taken, point taken," he admitted as Shirota, Takuya and Kimeru came back to meet with the group.

Takigawa lowered the camera and grinned over to the returning people from the latest game.

Kimeru grinned back before sitting down beside Takigawa.

"Did you see how Shirota-kun played? It was sooooo cool! I never saw moves like that before!" Takuya said in awe, still full of energy.

Aiba nodded before facing Takigawa. "Did you manage to get pictures, senpai?"

Takigawa handed the camera to its owner. "See for yourself," he stated before handing Kimeru a towel and a bottle of water.

Shirota rubbed the back of his head at Takuya's compliment and sat himself down.

Aiba took the camera and reviewed the pictures that were taken. "These are...amazing shots..." he said in complete awe. "And it looks like you've taken a liking to zooming in to Kimeru-senpai," he teased.

Takigawa turned away and concentrated in asking how Kimeru was after the game.

Shirota chuckled and took a long sip from his water bottle.

After finishing looking at the pictures and smiled at Takigawa. "I'll credit you when these get published, senpai," he said before handing Takuya and Shirota some snacks which he snatched earlier.

Kimeru grinned and patted Takigawa on the head. "Glad you kept your eye on me most of the time," he teased.

Shirota grinned. "Thanks, Hiroki," he said in appreciation, munching on some snacks.

Takigawa scratched his cheek shyly.

Aiba smiled and nodded as he watched Takuya and Shirota eat.

Kimeru grinned as he patted Takigawa gently on the cheek. "It's fine, it's fine," he said.

-HR-

The last of the quarterfinal matches progressed a little after the past two games between sections 2-2 and 3-3, which ended with a score of 2-0 in 2-2's favor.

"After a 30 minute break, we will resume the semi-finals of today's soccer tournament of our Sportsfest. Teams of sections 3-2, 3-1, 1-1 and 2-2 please be ready by then," a teacher announced.

"Semi-final round," Takigawa stated as he got to his feet while the rest of the crowd headed off to get some food or drinks from the stalls. "I have no doubt that you guys will reach the finals, Shirotan."

"And Wada-buchou's class is sure to reach that stage as well," Shirota fired back. "So we have about... a 70-20 chance of winning the whole thing."

Aiba, by that time, pulled out a video camera. "And I shall record the epic match."

"Didn't you pull it out too early?" Shirota admitted with a sweatdrop.

Aiba chuckled before patting Shirota on the head. "Of course not," he said as he turned the device on and pointed it towards Takigawa and Kimeru who were having a moment. "I have every intention to tape some 'before game action' for Ueshima-sensei."

"Before... game..." Shirota trailed off as he looked over to Takigawa and Kimeru, blushed and immediately turned away.

"That should be enough for Ueshima-sensei," Aiba said, a blush forming on his cheeks as he placed the camera down. "Yuu~" he called to make Shirota look at him, smirking inwardly when he saw some students look at them as well (since they were near Takigawa and Kimeru who looked like they didn't mind the onlookers), before leaning down to give the boy a quick kiss on the lips.

Shirota blushed as soon as Aiba had kissed him but didn't pull back and just heard a few moans of disappointment nearby. _'Well, that sure made things clear...'_ he thought to himself with a smile to Aiba before deciding to distract himself and grab something to drink.

Aiba fumbled with the video camera again, sending a smirk towards Shirota's fans before thinking. _'Sorry Yuu...Ueshima-sensei asked for a shot of us too…'_

He pressed the red button to stop the camera from recording, not able to notice a smirking Yagami Ren just a few steps behind them. "Too careless, Aiba-kun," he said as he showed the shot to Kentarou. "Nice angle don't you think?"

Kentarou nodded. "Indeed," he agreed.

"Kentarou-kun!" Shirota exclaimed.

"Good luck against Wada-buchou, Shirota-kun. I have no doubt you'll win your next match against 2-2 with Kujirai-senpai with that skill and talent of yours."

Shirota nodded. "I appreciate it."

Yagami waved at the freshman. "Do your best, Shirota-kun~ We'll be rooting for you," he called out.

Shirota turned to Yagami and nodded firmly. "Arigatou, Yagami-senpai," he said.

-HR-

It wasn't long before the two semi-finals went underway. The teams of section 3-2 - led by Wada - and section 3-1 - lead by Moriyama - occupied Field A while the teams of section 1-1 - led by Shirota - and section 2-2 - led by Kujirai - occupied Field B. Cheers were vibrant as both games began with their respective kick-offs, the action non-stop as both games began with much enthusiasm and goal-scoring.

As each goal was scored, it became obvious which teams would progress to the finals from both games. When the final whistles were blown, the scoreboard from both games were practically the same: a 3 to 1 win for 3-2 and 1-1, pinning them as rivals in the final match for the Soccer tournament of the Sportsfest that day.

Aiba cheered as he and the rest of his classmates cheered for their players.

Kimeru grinned as he watched the crowd. "They weren't this hyped last year," he pointed out.

"We would have to take into consideration the group of freshmen this year, and someone like Shirota Yuu being so popular," Takigawa fired back.

Kimeru sighed. "Woe is me...looks like I'm going to be overthrown," he said dramatically. "Not that I mind or anything," he added with a grin.

"You'll always be number one in my book," Takigawa complimented, stealing a kiss on the boy's cheek.

Kimeru heard another collective groan of dismay in the background before chuckling and latching on to Takigawa. "Then I don't mind being over thrown by Shirota-kun at all~" he said happily before lip locking with Takigawa again.

Shirota distracted himself soundly from this public display of affection by clearing his throat and calling Takuya to accompany him to the field to prepare for the final match against Wada-buchou and the rest of his class.

Aiba waved at them as they left before looking at the two juniors and taking a quick picture before chuckling to himself. "I'm going to make some cash out of this..."

Shirota chose that moment to glance over to their direction before his eyes grew wide and quickly looked away to distract himself once more. _'After hiding themselves so long... They decide to go public now of all times?'_ Shirota debated with himself before shaking his head.

-HR-

"Well, we better get a good- Sweet merciful heavens...is that Kimeru and Takigawa?" Nagayan exclaimed.

Upon hearing this Daisuke immediately turned around and felt his blood boil. "Why that..." he muttered angrily as he stood up and made his way towards the two.

Furukawa reacted quickly to this and grabbed Daisuke firmly by the wrist. "Calm down, Daisuke," he said firmly. "Don't go making too much of a scene than what it already is."

"But that Takigawa is kissing Kimeru out in the open!" Daisuke argued.

"Quite thoroughly too..." Kenn said from behind them.

"Your point?" Furukawa inquired with a raise of an eyebrow.

"They...they...Oh never mind..." Daisuke said in defeat as he sat back down.

"Jealous that you're not getting that much action?" Nagayan teased as he sat down beside the disgruntled junior.

Daisuke blushed and turned away, muttering things to himself.

Furukawa chuckled, settling down beside him and chanced a quick kiss on Daisuke's cheek before tousling his hair. "Relax, okay?"

"So everyone is making statements now?" Ren said from behind the group, managing to get a shot of Daisuke and Furukawa.

"Looks like the next issue of the paper would be selling quite nicely."

"Yagami-senpai can be sneaky that way..." Kentarou admitted from beside the school paper editor-in-chief.

"Well, we do have the pictures of the most famous people in school," he said happily as he waved the camera. "Ne, Kentarou..." he said as he suddenly kissed the boy on the cheek.

Kentarou flushed in embarrassment as Takigawa smirked at the sight. "This school is a breeding ground for couples, I see," he admitted, pulling Kimeru close.

"The final match between sections 3-2 and 1-1 will begin momentarily. Everyone please find your seats in the stands so we can start," Ueshima-sensei announced.

"Better have that reputation than Shizuri's," Kimeru said as he leaned on Takigawa.

Daisuke overheard this and frowned before turning his attention to the field.

-HR-

On the field, Wada and Shirota met up on the center of the field for the coin toss. As Wada's class one the call, both varsity players shook hands.

"No hard feelings, Shirota-kun," Wada told the freshman.

Shirota smiled. "Of course not, Wada-buchou. Let's just enjoy ourselves and have fun."

Wada nodded before the two went to their respective positions so the game could begin.

-HR-

Aiba grinned as he adjusted his hold on the video camera and began taping.

The band club watched the game, making bets with each other as to who will come out the winner.

As the opening whistle sounded, Wada began the game with a kick-off to one of his classmates. 20 players began moving about the pitch to fight for possession of the soccer ball. A pass was intercepted brilliantly by Takuya before Shirota made a dash forward to lead the freshman class' attack on the senior class' goal.

Aiba tried to contain himself from cheering as he taped the whole match.

Shirota managed to score the first goal, bringing the score up 1-0. At kick-off, Wada made sure to direct his class around to get into position and create an opportunity to score. This time around, he was successful and managed to set up a great play and scored past the keeper to tie the score at 1 all.

-HR-

"As expected of a final match..." Takigawa noted as he watched the game in earnest.

Yagami walked up to Aiba. "Are you getting all this?" he asked and Aiba nodded.

"Every piece of action, Yagami-senpai."

Yagami nodded. "That's very good. We'll be using that video to make a commercial for the school, after all."

"Commercial?"

"Aa, the principal expects a lot, keep up the good work."

-HR-

The fierce battle among the two classes continued, with Wada and his team managing to score another goal to put them in the lead before halftime.

"So the score stands at 2 to 1 in favor of Wada-senpai's section..." Takigawa noted.

"They need to score a goal first to tie the game, and another for a reversal... I wonder how Shirota's going to attack in the last half of the match?"

Kimeru threw away the empty popcorn box and picked up another before opening it. "Beats me but this is getting more interesting by the second...popcorn?" he asked as he offered some to Takigawa.

Takigawa blinked, looking over to Kimeru and got a handful of the treat and popped one into his mouth as the game was to resume.

-HR-

Shirota's class immediately went all out upon kick-off for the last half of the game. There were clearly adjustments that were made as Shirota was calling out plays and passing courses before lining himself up near the goal area and brought a hand up to signal that he was free and ready to shoot. Takuya in particular was a great help to break the defense. Shirota was passed the ball as he lined up for a shot and managed to score, tying the game early on.

Daisuke, who was practically dragged by the other band members, was playing the drums to aid the cheering first years. _'Why am I doing this again?'_ he thought darkly as he watched the game and played half heartedly.

The rest of the game was intense. There were quite a few brilliant tackles and passes, but Shirota managed to assist a goal scored by Takuya, reversing the score at 3 to 2 in their favor. At stoppage time, Wada relentlessly tried to lead his own team to tie the game once more, but Shirota managed to steal the ball after anticipating a long pass and made 1-2 passes with his teammates before scoring yet another goal to successfully end the day's soccer tournament, signaled by the final whistle.

-HR-

"They have very nice team work," Yagami commented to Kentarou. "That boy..." he said as he gestured to Takuya. "I don't think I've seen him play before...a new recruit?" he asked.

Kentarou nodded. "He was a new transferee into Shirota-kun's class. He was invited to join the varsity, and him taking part in the tournament alongside Shirota was sort of his try-out per say."

-HR-

Wada approached Shirota and Takuya after the game and outstretched his hand. "A great game and congratulations to you both," he stated warmly. "I humbly admit our defeat."

Shirota grinned, shaking his hand. "It's always a pleasure to play with you, Wada-buchou."

Wada turned to Takuya. "I'll be seeing you join our regular practices with the varsity team, Takuya-kun."

Takuya looked at Wada in awe before smiling widely. "Hai!" he answered enthusiastically. Pumping a fist in the air he cheered. "YOSHA!"

Aiba chuckled as he turned off the camera. "Congratulations you two," he said as he walked over to them.

Shirota grinned and gave off a thumbs-up. "Sankyu, Hiroki~"

Aiba nodded. "Want a copy of the final game? It was epic," he said.

"Sure was. You even had Daisuke on the drums to cheer you on," Kimeru said as he and Takigawa went down the bleachers as well.

Shirota nodded. "I'd like to watch it back myself from a different point of view," he stated.

Takigawa patted him on the shoulder. "So now both your class and mine will be joining the awarding ceremony at the end of the week."

"Tomorrow will be baseball," Shirota reminded the group.

Kimeru grinned. "We'll be seeing Daisuke play in that one." he said, "Speaking of..." he said as he walked over to Furukawa. "Oi! Furukawa! I want to make a bet with you," he said.

Furukawa smiled. "What kind of a bet?" he inquired.

"That Daisuke's team loses," Kimeru said with a grin.

"I heard that!" Daisuke exclaimed from the back.

"If I'm right you have to do me a favor. If I'm wrong then I do you a favor," Kimeru finished.

"That'd be an unfair bet to make," Furukawa pointed out. "I already know that Daisuke's team will lose. It's your team as well, after all. I think we should be betting how long your section will be in the tournament until they lose," he said.

"I'd say we have a fighting chance of...an hour," he bargained.

-HR-

Aiba sweatdropped. "Kimeru-senpai..." he muttered as he shook his head. "That reminds me...Takigawa-senpai...I'm curious...what's Kimeru-senpai's real name?"

Takigawa blinked. "Why do you want to know?"

Aiba glanced at the vocalist. "Well...I've been researching and oddly...I haven't found it," he explained. "I'm really curious."

Takigawa smiled, messing up Aiba's hair. "You'll have to remain curious a little longer, Aibacchi."

"Mou..." Aiba said with a frown as he fixed his hair. "Not the hair..." he muttered.

Shirota chuckled. "Well, I'm sure of one thing," he stated.

"And what would that be?" Takigawa inquired, turning his attention to his childhood friend.

Shirota brought a finger up. "Moriyama-senpai will be trying his hardest to make sure his class wins tomorrow."

"Of course he would...it's their last year, after all," Aiba pointed out.

Shirota turned to him and smiled. "Ah, but that's not the only reason," he rebutted. "If you realized, Takigawa won the basketball tournament yesterday. And now I did with my class today in the soccer tournament."

"In short...he's the only one from the Student Council who has yet to show face and bring his class a victory," Takigawa explained.

"Sou..." Aiba said before thinking for a minute. "Aaand, he's playing tomorrow right?" he asked slyly.

Takigawa and Shirota nodded simultaneously. "That's right," they replied in unison.

"So will I," the freshman added, patting Takigawa on the shoulder. "What about you, Eiji-senpai?"

Takigawa nodded. "I believe my class asked me to participate as well."

"Then I shall film it all again...that is after I pull some strings for tomorrow, excuse me," Aiba said before heading towards Yagami who had walked away with Kentarou.

"And since my class won, I'm treating for dinner this time!" Shirota exclaimed to the small group.

"And you can afford that?" Takigawa teased.

"Of course I can!" Shirota fired back.

"Did someone mention food?" Kimeru said as he appeared behind Takigawa with a huge grin on his face.

Takigawa jerked a thumb towards Shirota. "He did," he stated simply.

Kimeru looked at Shirota. "Food?" he asked, leaning towards the boy.

Shirota grinned. "Aa. Food. Feel free to come along, Kimeru-senpai," he stated happily.

"Be prepared to spend a lot if you take him along," Takigawa teased.

"Hey! I can control my appetite when the situation calls for it," Kimeru said with a pout.

Takigawa waved it off. "That's beside the point," he stated, pulling Shirota to him. "Now, where are we eating?"

"I was thinking a nice yakiniku restaurant."

Immediately Aiba perked up as he rejoined the group. "Yakiniku?" he asked excitedly.

Kimeru looked at him. "Three guesses why Shirota-kun thought that up," he said slyly.

Shirota grabbed Aiba's hand. "The perfect yakiniku restaurant was the first one I ever took you to at the start of term," he stated brightly. "Now let's go!"

Aiba promptly turned red when he heard this statement before allowing himself to be pulled along.

Kimeru grinned. "Did you see how red his face was?" he asked with a laugh before following the two with Takigawa.

-HR-

Shirota led the way to the restaurant where the foursome entered and sat themselves down. As the menus were distributed, Shirota looked to the others and said, "Order what you like then," he said.

Aiba nodded and ordered what he did the last time. Kimeru looked at the menu before putting it down. "I'll have whatever he's having," he said as he pointed at Takgiawa.

Takigawa looked over to Kimeru and chuckled. "If you say so..." he said before returning his attention to the menu and placed their orders and turned to Shirota. "And yourself?"

Shirota chuckled, pointing to Aiba. "Whatever he ordered," he replied with a grin as the waiter repeated their orders for them before heading to the kitchen.

Aiba blinked. "That's the same thing you did back then," he pointed out.

Shirota turned to Aiba and smiled. "Really?" he said, pretending not to recall. "You just happened to order whatever I wanted to order as well," he debated.

Aiba raised an eyebrow and looked at him, "Oh really..." he said.

Shirota smiled and took the chance to lean forward and peck Aiba on the lips before pulling back. "Yes, really."

Aiba smiled before leaning back to wait for their orders.

"Oh yeah, before I forget. The band is going to participate in the battle of the bands next week outside school. You guys want to come?" Kimeru invited.

Takigawa turned to Kimeru. "And why did I only hear about it only now?" he asked.

"Sounds exciting," Shirota exclaimed.

Kimeru shrugged. "Because I only remembered it now, so don't complain," he said. "I'll give you guys the passes tomorrow."

Takigawa rolled his eyes as their orders came.

The raw meat was placed on a separate plate as Shirota's eyes beamed with anticipation as he broke his chopsticks in half. "Yosh! Itadakimasu!" he exclaimed, grabbing a particular meat and setting it on the grill at the table.

"We should have an eating contest in this place in the future," Kimeru said with a grin before reaching for his own chopsticks.

"And who do you suppose would be paying the bill for said contest?" Takigawa inquired, breaking his own chopsticks to start eating.

Kimeru lightly hit Takigawa on the head with his unused chopsticks. "I will. I'm going to become rich and famous, remember?" he reminded him.

Takigawa frowned, rubbing his head and turned to his food. "If you say so..." he muttered in reply, taking some meat and setting it on the grill.

Shirota, after finishing preparing his sauce, took the meat and transferred it to his plate. "It's perfect," he said with a satisfied grin.

"You'll see...I'll invite Daisuke and some other people and we're going to have a lot of fun," Kimeru said.

"Senpai, if you're not going to eat now you're going to regret it," Aiba told him.

Shirota had already consumed half of his order by that time, and Takigawa had leisurely taken his time with his own order as well.

Kimeru blinked before grabbing some food for himself, occasionally snatching a piece of meat or two from the others.

"That was mine!" Shirota argued when he noticed Kimeru stealing one of his meats from the grill.

"Here, there's enough for us to share," Takigawa said, placing a new one on the grill for the younger boy.

Aiba ate silently and observed the three as he did so. He was about to say something when he noticed a familiar person in the room, "Isn't that..." he said as he pointed to a certain couple.

"Who who?" Shirota inquired, turning to the direction Aiba had pointed to.

"Furukawa-senpai and Watanabe-senpai" Aiba answered.

Shirota's eyes widened upon recognizing them. "Eeeeeeeeeh?" he exclaimed before Takigawa quickly covered the boy's mouth.

"Don't let them realize you saw them," Takigawa hissed at the younger pair.

Aiba blinked in confusion before turning his attention away. "Why is that, Takigawa-senpai?" he asked quietly.

Takigawa ran a hand through his hair, leaning back on his seat. "Furukawa told me about it and that it was better if not a lot of people from the school knew about it," he explained.

"As if the whole school doesn't know about it...those two are among the popular kids, after all," Aiba pointed out before taking a piece of meat and eating it.

"They're in the band so that's to be expected," Kimeru said. "But it's odd that they're out this late, I heard Daisuke's parents are all for Spartan discipline."

"Then I can only think of two possibilities," Shirota pointed out.

"Which are?" Takigawa inquired.

Shirota took a piece of meat from Kimeru and ate it before he continued. "Either he's defying his parents or he's living with Furukawa-senpai like Kimeru-senpai is with Eiji-kun."

Kimeru looked at the two. "Them living together? Snowball's chance in hell," he scoffed before adding more meat on the grill.

Shirota shrugged. "If you think so..." he said before noticing that his corn was gone. "Hey!"

"Relax, it's on the grill," Takigawa reassured the boy.

Aiba looked at him. "How did you know what he's looking for?" he asked suspiciously.

"It was the only uncooked item left on his plate," Takigawa reasoned calmly.

"It's done~" Shirota chimed, taking the corn from the grill.

"And Shirotan is quite fond of grilled corn," the Student Council Vice-President added.

_'I have to remember that...'_ Aiba thought to himself as he glanced at the soccer player.

-HR-

Meanwhile at another part of town, Shirota Pepi's phone started ringing. Pepi, having just finished closing the restaurant, wiped her hands dry before she heard her cellphone ringing. She ran over to it and picked it up. "Hello?" she answered.

"Ah, Shirota-san," Mikoto said from the other line. "This is Aiba's mother, Mikoto. I'm hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

Pepi shook her head. "Not at all, not at all, Mikoto-san. Is there something wrong?" she inquired.

"No, nothing is wrong, Shirota-san. Actually I have a favor to ask," Mikoto started as she looked at her husband. "You see, My Husband and I are going to be called away on a business trip for about a week and Hinako has already started staying at her boarding house." she explained, "And I was wondering if it would be alright for Hiroki to stay with Yuu-kun during that time we're away."

Pepi raised her eyebrows. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with that," she admitted. "You would actually be better off asking for approval from Yuu himself, as he's the one who's always at the house."

"Yes, but I thought that it would be better to inform his parents first," Mikoto said with a smile. "Thank you very much, Shirota-san, I'll be contacting Yuu-kun now."

Pepi smiled. "I appreciate the thought, Mikoto-san," she replied before ending the call.

Mikoto thought for a moment and dialed Shirota's number, relaying the conversation to him.

-HR-

"What was that about?" Aiba asked as he looked at Shirota once the call had ended.

A wide grin was etched on Shirota's face as soon as he tucked his phone away. "That was your mom," he said nonchalantly. "She requested if you could stay over with me while she and your dad go off on a business trip for a week."

"Oh..." Aiba said before reaching for another piece of meat on the grill. "WHAT?" he exclaimed loudly as soon as the news sunk in.

"What, I said it was alright," Shirota defended, trying to calm Aiba down.

-HR-

Furukawa looked up from his food and looked around, "That...sounded like someone familiar…"

Daisuke lowered the meat he was about to eat before frowning, looking over Furukawa's shoulder to find the source of the yell, twitching. "Don't mind it..." he muttered, stuffing his mouth with the abandoned meat.

"Hai hai~" Furukawa said before turning back to the food.

-HR-

Aiba flailed as Kimeru clamped a hand over his mouth. "Quiet down!" the singer hissed.

"What's the big deal anyway? You've been to his house twice already, haven't you?" Takigawa tried to point out.

"That he has," Shirota agreed.

"Yes, but those were for academic purposes," Aiba defended.

"Then now you can spend time with him without thinking of academic purposes," Kimeru stated.

"That doesn't make sense!"

"Yes it does!"

Shirota pulled Aiba close to him, grinning playfully. "Oh come on. All Kimeru-senpai's telling you is that you see this as a normal sleepover. Like when you pulled me to sleep over at your place last time," he explained.

Kimeru smirked and winked at Aiba.

The younger blinked a few times before finally getting what the older was hinting at and promptly turned red. "I hate you Kimeru-senpai..." he muttered darkly.

Shirota looked amongst the two before shrugging. "Well, if everyone's done, can I pay for the bill now?" he inquired to steer the topic in another direction.

Takigawa browsed the table before nodding.

Aiba nodded as well. "Are you sure you want to pay for it all?" he asked uncertainly.

"I said I would so I will!" Shirota said with determination in his voice as he raised his hand to call for the bill.

Takigawa shook his head. "Don't bother arguing with him, Aibacchi. It'll be a wasted effort."

Aiba sighed. "I know I know..." he said as he leaned back.

-HR-

After paying for their dinner, Shirota got to his feet and stretched. "That was a good meal!" he complimented with a satisfied grin.

"Agreed!" Kimeru said with a satisfied grin before latching on to Takigawa.

Takigawa smiled before leading the group out of the restaurant. "So when is Aiba set to stay over at your place, Shirotan?"

"Next week," Shirota replied.

"Mother really likes to decide things on her own..." Aiba muttered.

"But you're looking forward to it, aren't you?" Kimeru teased.

"I would if I were you," Takigawa pointed out. "You never bothered using the pool in his house yet, have you?" the basketball player offered.

Aiba blinked and looked at Shirota, "You have a pool?" he asked in surprise.

"I didn't really give you a proper tour of the place when you came over," Shirota admitted, scratching the back of his head.

Kimeru grinned. "Then why don't we make use of that pool?" he asked. "It'd be fun!"

"Thursday is a rest day, so we can go to Shirotan's house then," Takigawa informed them.

Kimeru nodded. "Can I invite some of my friends too?" he asked the second year.

"Don't ask me, ask the owner of the house," Takigawa said, gesturing to Shirota.

"What friends?" Shirota inquired with a raise of his eyebrow.

"The band club in general," Kimeru said before thinking. "And their boyfriends if they have 'em."

Takigawa rolled his eyes. "The probability of the members of the band club having boyfriends outside said club is close to zero if you ask me," he stated.

Kimeru held up a finger. "Nagayan," he said and raised a second finger. "KENN," and lastly he pointed to himself.

"I wasn't..." Takigawa frowned before sighing in defeat. "Fine."

"A pool party, then..." Shirota said, stroking his chin. "I'll have to remember to prepare some snacks."

"I can bring some," Aiba offered.

Shirota grinned, nodding over to Aiba. "That'd be great, Hiroki," he said in gratitude.

Kimeru grinned. "I'll inform them later~" he said happily.

Aiba rolled his eyes. "Maybe you want to call some of our friends over so that it won't be one sided, Yuu..."

"I'd invite the varsity, but our fellow classmates from section 1 should suffice," Shirota suggested before turning to Takigawa. "Are _you_ planning to invite anybody while we're on the subject, Eiji-kun?"

Takigawa looked at the group in general. "Not particularly..." he began.

"Oh come on. I'm sure there are some people you wanna invite!"

"How about some friends from 2-1?" Kimeru suggested.

"Well... I suppose..." Takigawa admitted. "But either way, I would assume people like Toru will be dragging their boyfriends as well..."

"It's not as if it's unavoidable," Shirota reassured him with a grin. "So it's settled~ A pool party at my place on Thursday!"

"Alright!" Kimeru cheered as he pumped his fist in the air.

Aiba chuckled. "This is going to be something," he said.

"Make sure to bring your camera!" Kimeru reminded him.

"Of course," the younger said with a sly smile.

"We'd better head back home," Shirota announced. "Baseball tournament tomorrow," he reminded.

"Right, and I'm playing again~" Kimeru said with a grin.

"2-3 is playing based on fanservice again?" Aiba asked.

"Mostly...we have Daisuke as a pitcher since we heard Furukawa's one of the batters," Kimeru said. "It's something a lot of people are looking forward to."

"So that's why Furukawa-senpai seemed to have a-" Kimeru cut him off by clamping a hand over his mouth.

Shirota blinked while Takigawa rolled his eyes. "I seem to recall you were making a bet with Furukawa about losing the game tomorrow though," Takigawa pointed out.

"Yeah, we're sure to lose but the fact remains that we won't lose without a fight," Kimeru explained. "So Furukawa and I bet about the time that the game was going to last against 2-1."

Takigawa shrugged. "Whatever the case, that's something for tomorrow to decide."

"So Eiji-kun, Kimeru-senpai and I will be playing for our respective classes tomorrow..." Shirota pointed out.

"I would be playing as well but..." Aiba trailed off as he looked at his sprained hand.

Kimeru patted him on the shoulder. "You'll still contribute by cheering for your class. I mean Daisuke did it earlier and he didn't mind...deep deep down inside that is," he finished with a smirk.

"You never get tired talking about me behind my back, do you Kime?" came a voice from behind the vocalist.

Takigawa waved. "Good evening Watanabe-kun. Furukawa."

Shirota half-bowed to the two upperclassmen.

Kimeru jumped in surprise and latched onto the lamp post beside him.

Furukawa chuckled. "Easy, Kime. It's just us," he said.

Aiba blinked before half bowing to the two second years as well.

Daisuke grunted, averting his gaze from Takigawa and turned his complete attention to Kimeru. "We're heading home. I suggest you guys don't stay out any longer than necessary." With that, he took Furukawa by the wrist and pulled him away.

Takigawa took a moment to subconsciously reach up to his cheek as he watched them leave. "I'll never understand why he and I can't get along."

Kimeru slid down the lamp post and got off with a frown. "He's just too uptight, that's all. One of these days he's going to end up looking back and wondering why he hates you."

"Well, Watanabe-senpai is right, though...we should head home," Aiba said as he looked at his watch.

"Yes, and when that time comes I doubt I'd be surprised," Takigawa admitted before nodding to Aiba. "Let's head home then," he announced, taking Kimeru's hand. "See you two tomorrow."

Shirota nodded. "I'll walk you home, Hiroki," he said with a grin to the other boy.

"Alright. See you tomorrow, senpai-tachi!" Aiba said before walking with Shirota.

"See you tomorrow Eiji-kun. Kimeru-senpai," Shirota added before heading off with Aiba.

-HR-

Kimeru sighed before pulling out his handkerchief from his pocket. "Well, that was-" He was cut off when he noticed something fall to the ground and immediately snatched it and jammed it back in his pocket.

Takigawa slightly raised an eyebrow in suspicion as he and Kimeru walked off in the direction of his house. "What was that?" he asked slowly.

"Nothing," Kimeru answered quickly as he started walking ahead of the other, keeping his hands in his pockets.

Takigawa furrowed his brows and grabbed Kimeru's arm to stop him. "Apparently not," he said. "Now what is it?"

"I told you it's nothing..." Kimeru said as he attempted to pull his hand away.

Takigawa took a step closer as the light from the street lamp overhead lit up. "It's not nothing, Kime..."

Kimeru looked at the ground before hesitantly pulling his hand from his pocket, revealing three packed cigarette sticks he had and a lighter.

Takigawa looked at it for a long moment. "I thought you said you were quitting..." he muttered.

"I know...my usage has been gradually receding…" Kimeru admitted. "But..." he trailed off as he looked down.

Takigawa grabbed Kimeru by the wrist with one hand and tipped his chin up with the other. "First and foremost, it's bad for your health. You need to take care of yourself more... You plan to be a famous singer in the future, don't you?"

"Yes but..." Kimeru tried to argue.

Takigawa silenced him with a kiss before pulling away slightly and pressing his forehead to Kimeru's. "Just... please stop, Kime... Try stopping... For me..." he whispered.

Kimeru looked at the pack in his hands before sighing and chucking it to the trashcan near him. "Alright...for you," he said with a small smile.

Takigawa's lips curled into a smile as he wordlessly pulled Kimeru into an embrace.

-HR-

Meanwhile, Shirota and Aiba were approaching the vicinity of Aiba's house.

"Yuu...are you sure it's alright that I stay over for a week? I don't really want to be a burden..." Aiba started quietly.

Shirota nodded in reassurance. "Of course, I have the house to myself most of the time anyway. So I'd appreciate the company," he explained with a grin.

Aiba nodded as a small smile formed on his lips. "Alright...I guess that's a good way to look at it."

"I'll make arrangements so my siblings don't come over next week too if you're uncomfortable with them," Shirota added.

"No it's alright," Aiba said. "It's kind of interesting to see you interact with them, after all," he added with a grin.

They stopped in front of Aiba's house as Shirota frowned. "You just _had_ to bring that up!" he complained, scratching the back of his head.

"Eh?" Aiba said in confusion. "All I meant by saying that is that you guys are lively..."

Shirota sighed. _'Oh, if only you knew how they really are...'_ he thought to himself, averting his gaze momentarily.

"Did I...say something wrong?" Aiba asked in concern as he placed a hand on Shirota's elbow.

Shirota looked back to Aiba and shook his head. "No, no. It's nothing," he said in reassurance, smiling. "You should head inside now. I don't want your dad yelling at me or anything," he added.

"He wouldn't dare," he said. "See you tomorrow, Yuu~" he said before kissing the boy on the cheek and heading inside.

Aiba Daisuke, who was at the second floor of the house, saw this and merely drew the curtains.

Shirota nodded. "See you, Hiroki," he said with a smile and a wave before heading off to his own place.

-HR-

"Let's head home, shall we?" Takigawa said, finally pulling back.

"Sure," Kimeru said as he stepped back and took Takigawa's hand.

Takigawa firmly took Kimeru's and led the way back to his place.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED. :D

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